Damascus Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's a story worth every mile of road between here and there. Now, you want to talk about roots, we're going to start in 1866. The Civil War had barely drawn its last breath when the National Baptist Convention sent a man named Reverend I.

S. Campbell down into Texas with a mission — organize African American churches in a state still findin' its footing after everything that had come apart. Campbell didn't come alone.

A man named Joseph Smalley worked alongside him, and together they organized Damascus Missionary Baptist Church to serve the people of the West End and Chaneyville neighborhoods — communities that would later become part of Houston's Sixth Ward. The first pastor of this brand-new congregation was the Reverend Thomas Louis Hansborough. And in those earliest days, there was no grand building, no steeple reaching skyward — the church met in the home of a member.

Just folks gathered together, holding something sacred in borrowed space, until a sanctuary could be built at Center and Leverkuhn streets. Then comes 1885. Church trustees did what people with vision always do — they invested in permanence.

They purchased property on the west side of Court Street, near Center Street. Eight years later, in 1893, a new church building rose at that site. Solid.

Standing. And then Texas reminded everybody who's really in charge around here. The storms of 1900 and 1915 destroyed the structure.

Both times. And both times, the congregation rebuilt. You let that sink in — not once, but twice, this community came back and put their church back up.

That's not stubbornness. That's faith with calluses on its hands. By 1926, the congregation had purchased nearby property at 3122 Center Street.

New structures went up there in 1939, and again in 2007. This church has been building and rebuilding and growing for well over a century now, and it shows no sign of stopping. Along the way, the members of Damascus Missionary Baptist Church didn't just tend to their own.

They organized. They reached out. The Business and Professional Women of Damascus.

The Damascus Christian Education Committee. The Willing Workers organization. They established a scholarship fund, a bereavement ministry, a food and clothing pantry — missionary work, worship, education, civic outreach, woven together like something you don't unravel easily.

And here's the detail that'll stay with you: some of the families sitting in those pews today trace their connection to Damascus all the way back to the very beginning. 1866. The year it was organized. Same families, different generations, same church.

From a member's living room to 3122 Center Street — through storms, through rebuilding, through more than a century and a half of community — Damascus Missionary Baptist Church is still standin'. And that, partner, is exactly the point.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to 1866, when the Rev. I. S. Campbell was sent by the National Baptist Convention to organize African American churches in Texas immediately following the Civil War. Assisted by Joseph Smalley, Campbell organized Damascus Missionary Baptist Church to serve residents of the West End and Chaneyville neighborhoods, later part of Houston's Sixth Ward. The Rev. Thomas Louis Hansborough served as the first pastor of the new church, which met in the home of a member until a sanctuary was built at Center and Leverkuhn streets. In 1885, church trustees purchased property on the west side of Court Street, near Center Street, and a new church building was erected at the site in 1893. The structure was destroyed by storms in 1900 and 1915 and was rebuilt each time. The congregation purchased nearby property at 3122 Center Street in 1926 and new structures were erected at the site in 1939 and 2007. Throughout its history, Damascus Missionary Baptist Church has served the community with missionary, worship, educational and civic outreach programs. Auxiliary organizations organized by members of the congregation include the Business and Professional Women of Damascus, The Damascus Christian Education Committee and the Willing Workers organization. A scholarship fund, a bereavement ministry and a food and clothing pantry have also been established by the congregation to provide Christian outreach to the community. Some church members represent families who have been associated with the congregation from the time of its organization. (1992, 2009)