Pleasant Green Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. After the Civil War ended, emancipated slaves built something lasting in East Texas. They established a Freedmen's community, and they called it Pleasant Green.

Now that name carries a kind of quiet weight, doesn't it. A community born out of freedom, rooted right here in Gregg County. And from the very beginning, the people of Pleasant Green were building, not just shelters, but institutions.

On December 20, 1871, two pastors, Henry Moses and Charles Anderson, gathered with local residents and organized a Baptist congregation. Two men of faith, one December day, and a community that meant to endure. The Reverend Henry Mass stepped forward as the church's first pastor.

They didn't have a grand building to start. They met on a small farm, which tells you something about these folks. You work with what you have, and you show up anyway.

Then, in 1884, the congregation moved to this very site. They constructed a frame sanctuary. And the land they stood on, Simon and Mealy Claiborn deeded that property to the church.

A deed is a kind of promise written into law, and the Claiborns made that promise to their community. The congregation kept growing, kept building. By 1909, they raised a larger house of worship, and they didn't stop there.

Additions came throughout the twentieth century, each one a new chapter in the same long story. Today, Pleasant Green Baptist Church still stands as a central part of the historic African American community of this region, fostering education and spirituality, just as it has since that December day in 1871. Some things, once planted in good ground, just keep on growing.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, emancipated slaves established the Freedmen's community of Pleasant Green. On December 20, 1871, pastors Henry Moses and Charles Anderson led local residents in organizing a Baptist congregation. The Rev. Henry Mass served as the church's first pastor. Originally meeting on a small farm, the congregation moved to this site in 1884, constructing a frame sanctuary. Simon and Mealy Claiborn deeded the property to the church. In 1909, the congregation built a larger house of worship to which it made additions throughout the 20th century. Today, the church remains a central part of the historic African American community, fostering education and spirituality. (2004)