County Line Baptist Church and Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about County Line Baptist Church and Cemetery, out here in Sabine County. Now settle in, because this story starts in the quiet aftermath of a war, and it does not end there. After the Civil War, in a Freedmen's community known as Weeks Quarters, about two miles south of where we're standing, people began gathering.

Not in a building, not yet. In homes. Around whatever light they had.

Praying together, worshiping together, building something out of almost nothing. That is where this congregation was born. Led by the Reverend M.

McBerry, those members raised up their first sanctuary in 1868. A small frame building. Small, but it carried weight.

People came from a large surrounding area to worship there, and that same little building doubled as a community schoolhouse. One structure, holding more than one kind of future. Now, the name, County Line Baptist Church, that comes straight from geography.

The church sat near the line between Sabine and San Augustine counties. The marker tells us that plainly, and there it is. Then came 1885.

The congregation voted to move, relocating to the nearby Hankla community, right next to the County Line Cemetery, which today sits about two-tenths of a mile to the north. That cemetery carries its own quiet weight. The oldest documented grave dates to 1902, though local oral tradition suggests people were laid to rest there much earlier than that.

Many of those early graves are unmarked. We don't know all the names. That's worth sitting with for a moment.

The congregation wasn't done moving, either. In 1944, they voted to relocate once more, this time to this very location. And since then, they've kept building, kept growing, kept serving members from a large area across both San Augustine and Sabine counties.

What started in someone's home, after a war, in a Freedmen's community, is still here. Still holding.

What the marker says

This congregation began soon after the end of the Civil War in the Freedmen's community known as Weeks Quarters (about 2 mi. S). Early prayer meetings and worship services were conducted in homes. Led by the Rev. M. McBerry, the congregation built its first sanctuary in 1868. Worshipers came from a large surrounding area to attend services in the small frame building, which also served as a community schoolhouse. The church's name originated from its location near the Sabine-San Augustine County line. In 1885 the members voted to relocate the church to the nearby Hankla community, next to the County Line Cemetery (about 2/10 mi. N). The oldest documented grave in the cemetery dates to 1902, although local oral tradition suggests burials occurred much earlier. Many early graves are unmarked. In 1944 the congregation voted to move once again to this location. Since that time additional facilities have been built to serve the growing congregation. County Line Baptist Church continues to serve members from a large area in both San Augustine and Sabine counties. (1990)