Munger Avenue Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it — let me walk you through it the way Duane does. Now picture Dallas, 1894. Near the railroad tracks on Central Avenue, a man named the Reverend A.

H. Smith gathered a small group of charter members and organized what they called Galilee Baptist Church. Not the grandest beginning, maybe, but a determined one.

And they had a problem right from the start — the noise and distraction rolling in from the nearby taverns. So what did they do? They hung large rags in the church windows to block it all out.

You do what you have to do. Well, the neighbors noticed. And before long, folks were callin' it the Rag Doll Church.

That name stuck the way names do in Texas — affectionately, permanently, and whether you wanted it to or not. By 1911, under the direction of the Reverend A. D.

Hindon, the congregation had outgrown its rags-in-the-windows beginnings and relocated to 3407 Munger Avenue. Then came the Reverend Abraham Lincoln King, leading the church from 1912 to 1917. Under his watch, two significant things happened: the congregation built its first permanent church structure, and they changed the name — Galilee Baptist Church, the old Rag Doll Church, became Munger Avenue Baptist Church.

Between 1919 and 1932, the Reverend William Lofton led the church through a season of expansion. And then the Reverend Bernard Byrd took the pastorate — from 1932 all the way to 1946 — and during those years a new sanctuary was completed right at the present site, finished in 1940 and 1941. Each era built on the last, brick by brick, pastor by pastor.

In 1946, the Reverend Brooks Ellis Joshua came to Dallas. Under his leadership, the congregation kept growing, and an educational building was added to the church's footprint. When he died in 1968, a chapel was dedicated in his honor — a community's way of saying that some people leave a mark that outlasts them.

This church has offered Sunday School, nursery school, worship, and outreach programs to the surrounding community across all those decades. And its members, the marker is careful to note, have played an active role in improving race relations in the city of Dallas. Started near the railroad tracks with rags in the windows.

That's where this story begins. And everything you just heard is where it goes.

What the marker says

Located near the railroad tracks on Central Avenue, Galilee Baptist Church was organized in 1894 by the Rev. A. H. Smith and a small group of charter members. In an attempt to block out noise and distractions from nearby taverns, members hung large rags in the church windows. Neighbors soon nicknamed it "Rag Doll Church." In 1911, under the direction of the Rev. A. D. Hindon, the church relocated to 3407 Munger Avenue. Led by the Rev. Abraham Lincoln King from 1912 to 1917, the congregation built its first permanent church structure and changed its name to Munger Avenue Baptist Church. Between 1919 and 1932 the church expanded under the leadership of the Rev. William Lofton. A new sanctuary was completed at the present site in 1940-41 during the pastorate (1932 - 1946) of the Rev. Bernard Byrd. The Rev. Brooks Ellis Joshua came to Dallas in 1946, and continued growth under his leadership included an educational building. Following his death in 1968 a chapel was dedicated in his honor. This church has served the community with Sunday School, nursery school, worship, and outreach programs. Its members have played an active role in improving race relations in the city.