DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Houston's Fifth Ward. Now, some stories begin with a burning. This one does.
After the Civil War, freedmen came to the Fifth Ward — that stretch of Houston that would grow into one of the city's most storied communities. By 1866, the ward had its own alderman representing both Anglo and African American residents in city government. And like so many communities built by people who had nothing handed to them, the earliest institutions here weren't banks or city halls.
They were churches. One of those churches was Mount Zion Baptist. And then one day, the sanctuary burned.
The congregation moved across Buffalo Bayou — which meant that some members, just to attend Sunday worship, had to cross that water on skiffs. You picture that. A person climbing into a small flat boat, pushing off into the bayou, just to get to church.
That kind of devotion has a way of also producing a little practical thinking. A group of those members decided they needed a church closer to home. So in 1876, in a one-room store, the Reverend George W.
Booker gathered a congregation that you could count on two hands. His wife, Lizzie. Abe and Patsy Gray.
Nathan and Susan Ann Johnson. And Sarah Scott. Seven souls.
That was Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on its first day. Those seven men and women didn't stop at a one-room store. They purchased a lot on Liberty Street — known today as Rothwell — and they built a brush arbor there.
A revival brought many more into the fold. Then came the festivals, the suppers, the fund-raising, and before long, a proper wooden sanctuary stood where that brush arbor had been. Now, remember how this story began?
With a burning? Well, the storms and fires weren't finished with Mount Pleasant Baptist. The marker says the first sanctuaries — plural — were destroyed by storms and fire.
Each time, the men and women of the church went back in and salvaged whatever building materials they could for the next one. They were not a congregation that stayed down. Reverend Booker led this church from 1876 all the way to 1908, when he resigned.
The Reverend Joe J. James followed, serving from 1909 to 1931. During his pastorate, the Women's Missionary Society organized and stepped into church leadership.
Then came Reverend Howard O. Scott, 1932 to 1959. And then Reverend Acy Doyal McCraw, 1959 to 2000.
And carrying the church into a new century, Reverend Roy Lee Jackson. Five pastors across the church's first 125 years. Let that breathe a moment.
But even five steady pastors couldn't keep the City of Houston from doing what cities do. In the 1940s, the city bought the church's land for highway construction. Mount Pleasant Baptist had to move again — not across a bayou this time, but to new ground purchased from the Clay and Clay funeral directors, on the corner of Solo and Hershe Streets.
They built a new sanctuary there, and in 1951, the congregation held its first services in that new house of worship. From a skiff on Buffalo Bayou to a brush arbor to wooden sanctuaries raised and lost and raised again — this church has been tested by water, fire, storm, and the machinery of a growing city. And through all of it, generations of Fifth Ward families have kept showing up.
That's not luck. That's what seven people decided in a one-room store back in 1876.
What the marker says
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Houston's Fifth Ward developed primarily after the Civil War, when freedmen came to the area. In 1866, an alderman represented the ward, comprised of Anglo and African Americans, in the city's government. The earliest institutions were churches, including Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, which grew out of Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Mount Zion church moved across Buffalo Bayou after its sanctuary burned. Some church members had to cross the bayou on skiffs for worship, and a group decided to form a new church, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, closer to home. In a one-room store in 1876, the Rev. George W. Booker led his wife, Lizzie, Abe and Patsy Gray, Nathan and Susan Ann Johnson, and Sarah Scott in services. These seven men and women purchased a lot on Liberty Street, now known as Rothwell, and built a brush arbor there. Many joined Mount Pleasant Baptist Church after a revival, and within a short time, after raising funds at festivals and suppers, the church built a wooden sanctuary. The first sanctuaries were destroyed by storms and a fire. After each disaster, church men and women salvaged building materials for their next sanctuary. The Rev. George Booker resigned in 1908 and was followed by the Rev. Joe J. James. During his pastorate, the Women's Missionary Society organized and became a part of church leadership. In the 1940s, the City of Houston bought the church's land for highway construction. The church purchased land at Solo and Hershe Streets from the Clay and Clay funeral directors and began to build a new sanctuary. The members held their first services in the new house of worship in 1951. With only five pastors during its first 125 years, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church maintains the traditions of its founding members, with generations of area families still serving and ministering to the Fifth Ward community. (2002) Incising on back: PASTORS REV. GEORGE W. BOOKER (1876-1908) REV. JOE J. JAMES (1909-1931) REV. HOWARD O. SCOTT (1932-1959) REV. ACY DOYAL McCRAW (1959-2000) REV. ROY LEE JACKSON (2000- )