Saint Joseph Baptist Church

Black Texans on this coast worked cattle as well as wharves. Calhoun County's brand records include several African Americans, among them Ann Harred, a "free woman of color" who used the JD brand on her ranch on Matagorda Island. After emancipation, men who had been cowboys in slavery kept driving cattle to the Texas ports. In Lavaca itself the 1870 census counted 429 White and 339 "colored" residents, nearly half the town, two years before the Indianola congregation that became Saint Joseph was organized.

What the plaque says

Saint Joseph Baptist Church The Rev. John Nelson organized a congregation of the Free Will Baptist Church (Free Mission Baptist Church) in the coastal town of Indianola in 1872. Three years later, a devastating hurricane struck the Texas Gulf Coast, inflicting major damage on Indianola. The Rev. Mr. Nelson and his congregation repaired their church, but in 1886 another hurricane completely destroyed the town. Many Indianola residents moved to Port Lavaca to begin new lives. In 1898 the Free Mission Baptist Church members purchased a warehouse at this site and converted it for use as a house of worship. The name of the church was changed about 1900 to Saint Joseph Baptist Church, and following Nelson's death the congregation was served by traveling ministers. The church established a cooperative relationship with Mount Sinai Baptist Church, and the two institutions often shared services. The original warehouse/church structure was replaced by a new building in 1984. Counting among its members descendants of its founders, Saint Joseph Baptist Church continues to serve the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1992)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Alice O. Wilkins School — steps away
• Jefferson Beaumont — 0.2 mi
• Port Lavaca Cemetery — 0.2 mi
• Mt. Sinai Baptist Church — 0.3 mi