Mt. Olive Baptist Church

Duane's take

The official marker for Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Bastrop County tells it like this, and I'm just gonna do it justice. Now, you want to talk about a congregation that built something out of nothing, you start here.

In 1874, African American citizens of Bastrop established Mt. Olive Baptist Church. And when I say they started from scratch, I mean they started from the earth itself, meeting first in a brush arbor.

Open sky, cedar smell, the whole thing. Then, after a short time, a woman named Mary Francis Handly donated land, and the congregation built a small sanctuary. The pew inside was split cedar log.

One pew. But it was theirs, and they filled it. That first house of worship carried the community all the way to 1895, when a frame sanctuary was built.

Progress. And then in 1897, Elm Grove School was established right alongside the church, with Ben Clayton, F.W.R. Thorne, and Abe Yancey named as trustees.

Eighty-nine pupils, enumerated and accounted for, all sharing that same frame building with Mt. Olive Baptist. Church and school, school and church, under one modest roof.

But here is the thing about a living congregation. It grows. And that frame building, like the brush arbor before it, proved too small.

Under the leadership of Reverend H. W. Luckett, Mt.

Olive made its move. In 1909, the church purchased three acres at this very site from Jim Franklin. Trustees George Brooks, Samuel Franklin Thorne, and Henry Barnett closed that deal for thirty dollars.

Three acres. And on that land, they didn't just build a church. They established Mount Olive Evergreen Cemetery just to the northeast, so that the community would be held in this place not only in life but beyond it.

The sanctuary they raised in 1909 is still standing. Front gabled, rectangular plan, offset entrance, a spire reaching upward, shiplap siding, peaked windows. It is a building that means what it looks like.

Three years later, in 1912, trustees Abe Yancey, Tom Anderson, and F.W.R. Thorne bought an additional acre from Samuel Franklin Thorne and built an addition perpendicular to the sanctuary, side gabled, lined with banks of double-hung windows, board and batten siding. That addition was built as a dedicated classroom, and classes at Elm Grove continued right there until 1957, when the school consolidated with Bastrop.

From a brush arbor in 1874 to a cedar-log pew to a landmark still standing on three acres of purchased ground. Mt. Olive Baptist Church has been, as the marker puts it, a cornerstone of worship and social activities for this community.

Some things you build, and they hold.

What the marker says

African American citizens of Bastrop established Mt. Olive Baptist Church in 1874, first meeting in a brush arbor. After a short time, Mary Francis Handly donated land and a small sanctuary was built, with a split cedar log pew for the congregation. This house of worship served the community until 1895, when a small frame sanctuary was built. Elm Grove School was established in 1897, with Ben Clayton, F.W.R. Thorne and Abe Yancey as trustees. The rural school enumerated 89 pupils and shared the same frame building as Mt. Olive. Soon the frame sanctuary also proved too small for the growing church. Under the leadership of Reverend H. W. Luckett (1874-1924), Mt. Olive purchased three acres at this site from Jim Franklin in 1909 for a new church property. Trustees George Brooks, Samuel Franklin Thorne and Henry Barnett bought the acreage for thirty dollars. Mount Olive Evergreen Cemetery was also established on the land, just northeast of the church building. In 1912, trustees Abe Yancey, Tom Anderson and F.W.R. Thorne bought an additional acre from Samuel Franklin Thorne and built an addition perpendicular to the sanctuary as a dedicated classroom. Classes continued at Elm Grove until 1957, when the school consolidated with Bastrop. The 1909 sanctuary is a front gabled rectangular plan building with an offset entrance and spire, shiplap siding and peaked windows. The 1912 addition, built perpendicular to the chancel, is side gabled with banks of double-hung windows and board and batten siding. The church has continued to serve the community as a cornerstone of worship and social activities. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2008