South Union Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

This one comes straight from the official marker — here's how I tell it. Now, you want to talk about a man who earned a nickname, picture this: it's 1893, and the Reverend Richard Henry Boyd — born way back in 1843, a native of Mississippi — rides into Palestine, Texas, and plants a church. Not his first, mind you.

Boyd had already been establishing congregations all around the state, including Palestine's own West Union congregation. But in 1893, he organized the South Union Baptist Church of Palestine, and he did it with 31 charter members on day one. They called him the Cowboy Preacher, and a man with that kind of energy for building things, well, he wasn't about to stop at one.

The new church took its name from its geographic location within the city — South Union — and in those early years, the congregation gathered in a two-room building on Royall Street. Two rooms. That's where it began.

Then in 1911, they moved to Dorrance Street, and South Union kept right on growing. Now Boyd himself had ambitions that stretched well beyond the city limits of Palestine. He aspired to create Christian literature for the nation's African American churches — the whole nation, not just Texas.

He worked with the Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School board up in Nashville, and then he held a conference right there at South Union Church to bring Black leaders together to discuss religious education. He used his own church as the launching pad for something much larger. After that, he moved to Nashville to publish religious materials.

The congregation he left behind kept building too. In 1948, they put up a larger sanctuary. And through the decades, South Union's pastors led their people into radio ministries, television ministries, a library, outreach missions — the kind of church that opens its doors to community groups for meeting and educational purposes.

Here's a detail I love: early in the twentieth century, you look at the membership roll of South Union, and you find a large number of railroad employees. The church reflected the community it lived in, plain and simple. Local leaders, statewide leaders — they all turned up in those pews throughout the church's history.

In 1986, the congregation formally became South Union Missionary Baptist Church, the name it carries today. Started with 31 people in a two-room building on Royall Street, and more than a century later, it's a long-standing Palestine institution. The Cowboy Preacher rode on to Nashville, but what he organized in 1893 is still standing.

That's a legacy worth pulling over for.

What the marker says

In 1893, the Rev. Richard Henry Boyd (1843-1927), a native of Mississippi, organized the South Union Baptist Church of Palestine with 31 charter members. Boyd, known as the "Cowboy Preacher," had established churches around Texas, including Palestine's West Union congregation. The South Union Church, named for its geographic location within the city, met in a two-room building on Royall Street until moving to Dorrance Street in 1911. In addition to uniting communities through the formation of congregations, Boyd aspired to create Christian literature for the nation's African American churches. After working with the Southern Baptist Convention Sunday School board in Nashville, Boyd held a conference at South Union Church to discuss religious education with other Black leaders. He later moved to Nashville to publish religious materials. The South Union congregation, which built a larger sanctuary in 1948, has continued to offer its facilities to community groups for meeting and educational purposes. Its pastors have led parishioners in a variety of outreach and educational missions, including radio and television ministries, as well as a library. The congregation has reflected the trends in the community, with the membership roll including a large number of railroad employees in the early 20th century and numerous local and statewide leaders throughout the church's history. The church became South Union Missionary Baptist Church in 1986. Today, it is a long-standing Palestine institution, recognized for its service to the community and for its important history. (2004)