Sardis Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sardis Baptist Church in Cherokee County. Now settle in, because this story starts a long way from Texas. Way out in the Edgefield District of South Carolina, members of the Baptist Church of Christ at Salem and folks from other area churches made a decision.

They weren't going one by one, scattering to the wind. They traveled together, as a congregation, as a community, picking up and heading to Texas somewhere in that window of years between 1846 and 1848. And when they arrived, they put down roots in what would become known as the Sardis community of Cherokee County.

Among those early settlers you'd find the Berry family, the Martin family, the Colemans, the Nickolsons, and the Jennings. Names that would come to mean something in that corner of East Texas. They came together, and together they stayed.

By 1854, this gathered community made it official. They organized the Sardis Baptist Church, with J. W.

Carter serving as the first ordained minister, and they petitioned for membership in the Judson Baptist Association. That's a church planting its flag and saying: we are here, and we intend to last. Now, the first church building is something of a mystery.

The marker will tell you plainly: not much is known about it. But the second structure, that one has a story. It was two stories tall, and it pulled double duty as a community school.

The Woodmen of the World fraternal organization took up residence on the upper floor. So on any given week, that building was carrying worship, education, and fraternal fellowship all under one roof. That's a Texas-sized workload for a country church.

A third building eventually came along, used solely for church activities. Meanwhile, the congregation kept growing the old-fashioned way. Members were added through baptism, often following revival meetings, and those early baptisms didn't happen in some fine indoor baptistery.

They took place in the Neches River, or in Box's Creek. Cold water, open sky, the whole community watching from the bank. Then came 1948.

The Sardis school consolidated with the Rusk schools, and the school district traded property and buildings with the church. Just like that, the congregation found itself worshipping in the former Sardis schoolhouse. The building changed hands, but the community held on.

And then, as it goes with so many small rural places, the population of the area declined. And when that happened, church membership declined right along with it. That's not a failure.

That's just the tide going out. What the marker wants you to understand is this: Sardis Baptist Church is a reflection of the community's heritage, and an important reminder of Texas' rural past. A group of South Carolina churchgoers traveled to Texas together and built something that outlasted most of what surrounded it.

That's worth a marker. That's worth remembering.

What the marker says

Members of the Baptist Church of Christ at Salem and other area churches in the Edgefield District of South Carolina traveled together to Texas in 1846-48 and settled in what became the Sardis community of Cherokee County. Early settlers included members of the Berry, Martin, Coleman, Nickolson and Jennings families. In 1854, they officially organized the Sardis Baptist Church with J. W. Carter as the first ordained minister and petitioned for membership in the Judson Baptist Association. Throughout its history, the church has been the focus of this small rural community. Members were added through baptism, often after revival meetings. Early baptisms took place in the Neches River or in Box's Creek. Not much is known about the congregation's first church building, but the second structure was a two-story building that was also used as a community school. The Woodmen of the World fraternal organization occupied the upper floor. A third building was used solely for church activities. After the Sardis school consolidated with the Rusk schools in 1948, the school district traded property and buildings with the church, and the congregation began worshipping in the former Sardis schoolhouse. When the population of this rural area declined, so, too, did church membership. A reflection of the community's heritage, Sardis Baptist Church is an important reminder of Texas' rural past. (2002)