Old Palestine Baptist Church

Church records give a more tangled start than one date. Mount Olive Baptist Church was organized in 1844 and sent a petition to the Sabine Baptist Association in October 1845. A separate Palestine church appears on the association's roll in 1847. In June 1849 Mount Olive's letter to the association reported sixteen members received "by union of Palistine Church." A researcher reading the minutes concludes the name came from that merger. The present church was called Old Palestine to tell it from the Anderson County seat of Palestine.

What the plaque says

Old Palestine Baptist Church Organized 1844 by early preacher, Rev. Isaac Reed. First called Mount Olive, then Palestine. Worshipped in homes until 1854. Then small church (also used as school) was built on land donated by Capt. and Mrs. Henry Berryman. Third church now on site. (1966)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 9.1 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• Candace Midkiff Bean — 1.1 mi
• Selman-Roark Cemetery — 1.1 mi
• In the Present County of Cherokee — 2.6 mi
• Site of Linwood — 3.0 mi