DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about King Star Baptist Church in Kleberg County. Before there was a building, before there was even a congregation with a name on it, there was a mesquite tree. That's where it started — a mission station, reportedly set right there in the shade of that tree, somewhere in the area that would become Kingsville.
A lot of the folks who gathered there had come to the region as employees of the railroad companies, putting down roots in a new place and looking, as people do, for somewhere to belong. The Rev. William Green, a missionary for the Mount Zion Baptist Association, made frequent visits out to that site to deliver sermons.
Picture that — a preacher making his rounds, coming back again and again to a spot under a mesquite tree. That kind of persistence tends to mean something. And sure enough, it did.
In 1908, the trustees for the Mount Zion Baptist Association purchased a plot of land for two hundred and sixty-five dollars, and a building was erected to house services. Now the congregation had walls. Now they had a roof.
And then came Easter Sunday — April 17, 1910. Nine charter members officially formed the King Star Missionary Baptist Church, and that made it the first church for African Americans in Kingsville. The Rev.
J. W. Brice, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Kingsville, gave the morning's sermon that day.
The Rev. R. B.
Shiner was called as the first pastor. Nine people. One building.
One morning that changed what Kingsville was. But the building did double duty almost from the start. Those same walls that held Sunday services also held the first African American children's classes in the Kingsville Independent School District — the church building serving as a school facility, giving those children a place to learn when there was nowhere else for them to go.
After 1912, at the request of church representatives, the school district began paying rent of five dollars a month for use of the building, and that arrangement held until a new facility was designated. The King Star Baptist Church kept on keeping on through the whole of the twentieth century. And here's a detail worth sitting with — in the 1950s, church members participated in a program where both Black and white congregations exchanged members once each month, working to further relations between local churches.
That took intention. That took showing up. The King Star Baptist Church, born under a mesquite tree and raised into something that lasted, continues to celebrate its dedication to worship and service to the community.
From one tree to a century and beyond — that's not a small story.
What the marker says
Early religious activities for African Americans in this area, many of whom arrived as employees of railroad companies, were conducted at a mission station, reportedly located under a mesquite tree, the Rev. William Green, a missionary for the Mount Zion Baptist Association, made frequent visits to deliver sermons at the site. In 1908, trustees for the Mount Zion Baptist Association purchased a plot of land for $265.00 and a building was erected to house services. On Easter Sunday, April 17, 1910, nine charter members officially formed the King Star Missionary Baptist Church, the first church for African Americans in Kingsville. The Rev. J. W. Brice, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Kingsville, gave the morning's sermon. The Rev. R. B. Shiner was called as first pastor. The church building was used as a school facility for the first African American children's classes in the Kingsville Independent School District. After 1912, at the request of church representatives, the school district began to pay rent of $5.oo per month for use of the building until a new facility was designated. Throughouth the 20th Century the King Star Baptist Church served the religious community of Kingsville in the 1950s church members participated in a program wherein both black and white congregations exchanged members once each month to further relations between local churches. The King Baptist Church continues to celebrate its dedication to worship and service to the community. (1998)