Dixie Baptist Church

Texas House Resolution 984, adopted March 27, 2013, marked the 160th anniversary of Dixie Missionary Baptist Church. It says Richard Seale was born enslaved in Virginia in 1798, moved to Texas in 1850 with his master, who set up a plantation near Bevilport, and held his first formal devotionals under a beech tree. Part of the original 1853 sanctuary stood until 1967 and received a historic building medallion, the resolution says, and about 500 members still worshiped at the same location. It calls the church thought to be the oldest African American house of worship in Texas.

What the plaque says

Dixie Baptist Church Founded about 1850 under beech trees at this site, by a Negro slave, Rev. Richard ("Uncle Dick") Seale (1798-1875), a respected, beloved leader of his people. Church built 1853 by his master, Joshua Seale, veteran of American Revolution, early settler. (1966)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — 7.4 mi
  A 705-acre state park on Steinhagen Reservoir at the meeting of the Neches and Angelina rivers, with about 14 miles of paddling trails through sloughs and more than 200 campsites.

More markers nearby

• Dixie Freedom Colony — 0.6 mi
• Here Lived Dr. Stephen H. Everitt — 1.3 mi
• Site of the Town of Bevilport — 1.9 mi
• Bevilport — 3.4 mi