Churches In Beckville
And Surrounding Communities

by Jason Acker Submitted by Sally Metcalf Dawson
Religion has always played a very
important role in the lives of people in this area since the first settlers arrived. When
there were no church buildings, they met in homes to have their religious services.
Macedonia Methodist Church, now called Ebenezer, was
organized at Old Macedonia in 1843 by Rev. Littleton Fowler. The original location for
this church was about a mile west of Hollands Quarters, which was not very far from
Old Beckville. A record attendance, dated 1856-1857, has been preserved. Rev. George Lentz
was the local elder in 1856. Among the names on the attendance record are Beauchamps and
Davises. The church is presently located in the Walton Community.
Macedonia Baptist Church was organized in 1845 by Rev.
Lemuel Herrin. Records show that Rev. Isaac Reed assisted Rev. Herrin in organizing the
church. The Baptist and the Methodist shared the same log building from their beginning
until 1880 when the building burned. After the building burned, the Macedonia Baptist
Church moved to its present location west of Carthage on highway #79.
Youngblood Freewill Baptist Church was organized in 1858.
The land was donated by Isaac R. Youngblood. It is thought that Youngblood Church was a
mission church organized by Little Hope Primitive Baptist.
The Rock Hill Methodist Church was organized in the
community of Rock Hill in 1860 and has continued to serve that community over the years.
The New Prospect Presbyterian Church was organized in
August, 1865by Rev. Mitchell Smith and the congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church of Carthage, which was disintegrated shortly after. Until 1958 New Prospect was the
only Presbyterian Church in Panola County. The original membership was 12. The original
building is still in use on the original site. It was remodeled in 1951 and an educational
building was added in 1958.
Mt Zion Baptist Church in the Harris Chapel Community was
established in 1870. The late J.W. Bowen, Sr, donated land on which the original church
was erected. The second building, a one-room wood structure with 200-seat capacity, was
constructed in 1910. The third and present building since the churchs organization
was built in 1951. Two wings have been added to that building. When first organized, it
was a Missionary Baptist Church, but it is now a Southern Baptist organization.
Before Beckville moved to its present location, six men and
nine women organized the First Baptist Church of Beckville. Mr. Appling Smith gave two
acres of land to the church. The charter members choose the name Mount Pleasant Baptist
Church and called Rev. J.H. McLeroy as their first pastor. The records are not clear, but
they built the first building at the end of 1886 or the first part of 1887. That building
was replaced by a new one in 1918.
The Methodist constructed a parsonage in 1888 and the first
sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church was completed in 1891. That building was
blown down by a storm the next year but was soon rebuilt. This building was remodeled and
turned to face the east instead of south in 1916.
Pine Grove Assembly Church was organized in the early
1900s in the Pine Grove Community. Texas Utilities Company bought up the land in
that vicinity so the church moved to Beckville in 1975.
The first recorded minutes of the Union Arbor
Freewill Baptist Church are dated September 18,1915. It is called Union Arbor because
there were different denominations meeting in the church at one time. In 1915 the members
decided to become Freewill Baptist. At that time, E.S. Jameson was pastor. Union Arbor
Freewill Baptist Church was first located in the Sand Hills Community, but in 1977 had to
move because of the lignite mining. The building was moved to Beckville. The old building
still stands at the churchs present location, but a new sanctuary has been built.
Calvary Baptist Church was organized in 1953 with
thirty-one members. Rev. Eugene Cox, with the help of the congregation, designed a
building program that included a 300 capacity sanctuary, 2 huge bathrooms, and a foyer.
The old sanctuary was converted into a fellowship hall.
In 1954 Grand Bluff Baptist Church was established. Mr. Ike
Reeves donated the building site and a building was moved to that location. The original
building has been enlarged several times since then. The first pastor was Rev. Henry
Fisher.