DUANE
Duane's take
The way the official marker tells it, this is the story of Reedy Chapel A. M. E.
Church in Galveston County — and friend, it is a story that earned every word carved into that stone. It starts in 1848, when trustees of the Methodist Church purchased this very lot as a worship site for black slaves. For a while, there were no walls, no roof — just open sky and whatever faith folks could carry with them.
Meetings were held outdoors until a building finally went up in 1863. And then came 1865, the end of the Civil War, and with it something that changed everything. Ownership of the property was transferred to the recently-freed Black men and women who gathered there — and they didn't just receive a building.
They organized the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Texas. Let that settle in for a moment. The first.
In all of Texas. The church was later named in honor of the Reverend Houston Reedy of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served as the first pastor. A man from Philadelphia lending his name to a congregation on the Gulf Coast of Texas — now that's a story worth a quiet nod.
But here's where this congregation proved what it was made of, because the years ahead were not kind. Starting in 1875, a storm damaged the sanctuary. That was only the beginning.
In 1885, a fire burned a large area of the city and destroyed the church entirely. Some congregations don't survive that kind of loss. This one did.
They built again. The present structure was finished in 1887 — and then along came 1900. If you know Galveston, you know that year doesn't need much explanation.
The destructive hurricane of 1900 came through, and Reedy Chapel had to be restored once more. Then repaired again in 1947, and again in 1957. Storm, fire, hurricane, and still that congregation came back every single time.
More than thirty ministers have stood before this fellowship over the generations — the Reverend J. E. Edwards, the Reverend Josiah Armstrong, the Reverend M.
D. Moody, the Reverend W. R.
Beamer, the Reverend Louis H. Reynolds, the Reverend A. I.
Henley, the Reverend R. C. Walker, the Reverend Erford Barker, the Reverend C.
B. Bryant — and as of 1975, the Reverend Sylvester L. Green was serving as pastor.
More than thirty voices carrying the same tradition forward. Many of Galveston's prominent Black citizens have counted themselves members of Reedy Chapel A. M.
E. Church. And today, the fellowship includes several descendants of the original founders — people sitting in the same congregation their ancestors built out of freedom, after years of worship held under nothing but open sky.
From an outdoor meeting on a purchased lot in 1848, to a structure that has outlasted storms, fire, and hurricane — Reedy Chapel didn't just survive Texas. It helped shape it.
What the marker says
Trustees of the Methodist Church purchased this lot in 1848 as a worship site for black slaves. Meetings were held outdoors until a building was erected in 1863. At the end of the Civil War (1865), ownership of the property was transferred to the recently-freed blacks, who organized the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Texas. It was later named in honor of the Rev. Houston Reedy of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served as the first pastor. The church survived several natural disasters, beginning in 1875, when the sanctuary was damaged in a storm. It was destroyed in 1885 by a fire that burned a large area of the city. Finished in 1887, the present structure was restored after the destructive hurricane of 1900, and repaired again in 1947 and 1957. More than 30 ministers have served this congregation, including the Rev. J. E. Edwards, the Rev. Josiah Armstrong, the Rev. M. D. Moody, the Rev. W. R. Beamer, the Rev. Louis H. Reynolds, the Rev. A. I. Henley, the Rev. R. C. Walker, the Rev. Erford Barker, the Rev. C. B. Bryant, and the current (1975) pastor, the Rev. Sylvester L. Green. Many of Galveston's prominent black citizens have been members of Reedy Chapel A. M. E. Church. Today the fellowship includes several descendants of the original founders.