DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, there are churches that get built once and stand forever, and then there are churches that keep coming back — storm or no storm, mile after mile — because the people who love them simply will not quit. Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church is that second kind.
It started in the Dies community of Tyler County, formed by African American residents sometime in the late 1800s. The original building sat right next to the Old Pine Grove Cemetery, about a mile and a half north of where the church stands today. Life was already happening there — school, in fact, was already happening there.
As early as 1889, children in grades one through six were walking through those church doors for class, because no formal school building for African American children in the Woodville area existed yet. That wouldn't come until the 1930s. So for decades, Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church was doing double duty: house of worship on Sunday, schoolhouse through the week.
On average, thirty-eight students enrolled each term. For sixty years, that continued — right up through the 1948 to 1949 school year. But the building itself had a harder road.
As the Dies community shifted south along the road toward Woodville, the congregation moved with it. In 1912, a man named Frank Herring donated a half acre of land for the church's relocation. New site, new chapter.
Then the 1920s arrived, and with them, a severe storm that destroyed the structure entirely. You might think that would be the end of it. It was not.
In 1928, Reverend Henry and Mrs. Vicey Frazier donated property right here — this very site — for a new church home, and a new building was soon erected. That third structure began simply: a sanctuary and a pulpit area.
But in the 1950s, the congregation kept building. They added a choir stand, a pastor's study, and a bell tower and foyer. And here's the detail that'll stay with you — when they raised that bell tower, they went back and salvaged the cast iron bell from the second structure, the one the storm had taken, and they placed it up in that new tower where it could ring again.
Today the building stands with its central tower, drop siding, exposed rafter ends, and a metal gable roof. Three locations. Three buildings.
One congregation, holding on through every move and every storm — and a bell that refused to be lost.
What the marker says
Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church was formed by African American residents of the Dies community during the late 1800s. The church was originally located adjacent to the Old Pine Grove Cemetery, approximately 1.5 mi. north of this site. In 1912, as the community shifted south along the road towards nearby Woodville, Frank Herring donated a half acre for the relocation of the church. Unfortunately, a severe storm destroyed the church structure during the 1920s, and the congregation again chose to relocate. In 1928, Reverend Henry and Mrs. Vicey Frazier donated property at this site for a new church home, and a new building was soon erected. Pine Grove School was founded as a community outreach project of Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church. No formal school building was erected for African American children of the Woodville area until the 1930s, so classes for Dies community children in grades one through six were held at the church beginning as early as 1889. The school served the community for sixty years, with an average of thirty-eight students enrolled for each term; the school was closed after the 1948-49 school year. As originally constructed, Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church’s third building included a simple sanctuary and pulpit area. Additions to the building during the 1950s included a choir stand, pastor’s study, and a bell tower and foyer. At that time, a cast iron bell salvaged from the church’s second structure was placed in the bell tower. The exterior features a central tower, drop siding, exposed rafter ends and a metal gable roof.