Mt. Sinai Baptist Church

The congregation was founded as freedom reshaped the county. In 1870 Calhoun County counted 3,443 people, 907 of them Black, and most lived at Lavaca or Indianola. Before the war the county had counted only one free Black resident in 1840 and nine in 1850. Black children were later schooled in separate Port Lavaca and Long Mott districts. The Black population did not keep pace with the county's growth: it numbered 584 in 1920 and 957 in 1970, when the county had 17,831 people.

What the plaque says

Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Organized at Indianola (14 miles SE) in 1870, this church is one of the oldest black fellowships in Calhoun County. The first pastor was the Rev. Joseph Whitlock, an elder in the white Baptist congregation of the city. Several members of this church moved to Port Lavaca in 1875 after a hurricane destroyed the Indianola sanctuary. The remainder of the congregation joined them in 1886 following a second major storm. Known here originally as the Second Baptist Church, the members adopted the present name in 1905, during the 25-year pastorate of the Rev. A. K. Black. (1980)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church — steps away
• Jefferson Beaumont — steps away
• Port Lavaca Cemetery — steps away
• Calhoun County — steps away