Little Hope Primitive Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Deep in Jasper County, Anglo settlers started putting down roots in this part of Texas in the late 1830s. Now, the land was new and the conveniences were few, so when the traveling Methodist and Baptist missionaries came through, folks were grateful for whatever house of worship they could find.

And what they found was one building, doing double duty as both church and school. That's pioneer practicality right there. Those missionaries would ride in, conduct worship services for the pioneer families, and ride back out, leaving the community to tend to its own until the next visit.

That arrangement held for a good long while. Then, in 1890, a new structure went up. And three years later, in 1893, the Little Hope Primitive Baptist Church was officially organized.

Elder Durham Richardson stepped in as its first pastor, the first to stand at the front of that congregation and lead it forward. Now, the church, the school, and the cemetery here all carry another name too, one the marker makes sure to preserve alongside the proper one. Area residents coined it themselves: Seed Tick.

That's what folks called this place, Seed Tick, a popular local term that stuck to the church and the school and even the cemetery like, well, you can imagine. Little Hope may be the name on the deed, but Seed Tick is the name the community gave it. And out here in Texas, the name the community gives a place has a way of lasting just as long.

What the marker says

Anglo settlement of this area began in the late 1830s. Traveling Methodist and Baptist missionaries occasionally conducted worship services for pioneer families in a building that served as the community's church and school. A new structure was erected in 1890, and the Little Hope Primitive Baptist Church was officially organized in 1893. Elder Durham Richardson served as first pastor. The church, school, and cemetery here have also been referred to by the name "Seed Tick," a popular term coined by area residents.