St. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. St. Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Denton County carries a story that reaches back to a community most folks today have never heard of, a place called Quakertown.

It was an African American community right there within present-day Denton, and it had been putting down roots since the mid-1880s. The Second Baptist Church of Quakertown was part of that life, part of that neighborhood, part of that world. And then came 1922.

That year, the city held a bond election to buy all the community property, every bit of it, to convert to park land. Now, the congregation's pastor at the time was the Reverend J.A. Ayers, and he was not quiet about what he thought of that.

He was vocal about his opposition to the forced relocation. Vocal enough, apparently, that threats came his way. And reportedly, those threats were enough that he left town and left the church behind.

Let that settle for a moment. A man speaks up for his people, and the response is threats. That's not a footnote.

That's the weight this story carries. In 1923, the congregation made the move from its location between Oakland Avenue and Sanders Street in Quakertown, out to Lakey Street. A new address.

A new chapter. But the same people, the same faith, the same commitment to one another. Throughout the church's history, members have stayed active in community service and mission programs.

Quakertown is gone. The church is not. That's the story the marker wants you to carry down the road.

What the marker says

St. Emmanuel began as the Second Baptist Church of Quakertown, an African American community within present Denton that existed from the mid-1880s until 1922. That year, the city held a bond election to buy all the community property to convert to park land. The church’s pastor at the time, the Rev. J.A. Ayers, was vocal about his opposition to the forced relocation and reportedly left town and the church because of threats. In 1923, the congregation moved from its location between Oakland Avenue and Sanders Street in Quakertown to Lakey Street. Throughout the church’s history, members have been active in their support of community service and mission programs. (2006)