Emhouse Baptist Church

Emhouse got its name from a post office clash. The Handbook of Texas says the town was laid out around 1906 along the Trinity and Brazos River Valley line and called Lyford until officials found another Texas post office with that name. It became Emhouse for Col. Edward M. House, whom the Handbook calls the railroad's superintendent. Most residents of nearby Kelm and King Willow moved their houses over. By 1914 the town had five grocery stores, three blacksmith shops, a bank, three churches and a weekly, the Emhouse News.

What the plaque says

Emhouse Baptist Church Organized in the rural Kelm community (1.5 mi. W) in 1893, this congregation was chartered as the Tinkle Baptist Church under the direction of the Rev. B. N. Price, a pioneer Baptist missionary of the area. Worship services were first conducted in the community schoolhouse, which was located on land donated by early settler Nathan Tinkle. Later the church built a sanctuary adjacent to the school site. In October 1908 the members voted to move the church to Emhouse, which had been established two years earlier along the Trinity & Brazos River Valley Rail Line. The Kelm church building was relocated at this site and served the congregation for 30 more years. A community tabernacle, built in 1914 and in use until the 1940s, was the scene of early revivals which contributed greatly to the church's growth. The Emhouse Baptist Church has played a significant role in the development of the surrounding area. Since the earliest days of Emhouse, it has been a leader in community service and involvement. In addition, the church has been led by a number of prominent Baptist preachers, including the Rev. Dan Sharpley, who grew up here and later served as a missionary in Brazil. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Petroleum Industry Park — 8.5 mi
  The pipes and drilling tower mark where a city water well struck oil on June 9, 1894, the start of the first Texas field to produce oil and gas in important quantities.
• Ellis County Courthouse — 22 mi
  J. Riely Gordon's courthouse of 1897 in Pecos red sandstone and pink granite, with twenty-one carved stone faces and two cornerstones left by a quarrel over its building.

More markers nearby

• Barry — 5.5 mi
• Barry Baptist Church — 5.6 mi
• Grange Hall Cemetery — 5.7 mi
• Navarro County — 7.2 mi