St. Paul United Methodist Church - Double Bayou, Chambers County, TX - Country Churches on Waymarking.com

The Texas Historical Marker in front of the church states:

St. Paul United Methodist Church

This church was established in 1869 by a group of former slaves who had settled in the rural Double Bayou community. Land at this site was deeded to the congregation in the 1870s by charter member Martha Godfrey, who also donated the original tract of the nearby cemetery. Born about 1812 in Tennessee, Martha had been brought to Texas as a slave of the Mayes family, early area pioneers who settled here in the 1830s. St. Paul United Methodist Church has served as a focal point of the surrounding area for well over a century. The Double Bayou Community School was held here from the early 1880s until 1920, when a new schoolhouse was built. Church events have become important social activities, and the Martha Godfrey Cemetery, long associated with the congregation, has been the burial place of many area leaders. Funerals here have traditionally included the ringing of the church's toner, a small bell with a muffled sound. One of the oldest churches in Chambers County, St. Paul United Methodist Church has played a vital role in the area's development. the fellowship's growth continues to reflect the ideals of the Freedmen who founded it shortly after the Civil War. (1982)

From the Handbook of Texas Online, Article by Robert Wooster

DOUBLE BAYOU, TEXAS. Double Bayou is between the two forks of the Double Bayou and just north of the junction of Farm roads 1985 and 562, fifty miles southwest of Beaumont in west central Chambers County. James Jackson settled the area in 1847, establishing a ranch of 26,000 acres. Though most operations of this type used the open range, the Jackson ranch was fenced at an early date. The local general store, established by John Jackson before 1900, served as the center for community life at Double Bayou. A sugar cane mill and cotton gin also provided gathering points for the widely scattered settlers of the region. The Double Bayou post office operated from 1860 to 1866 and from 1876 to 1919. Traveling on Double Bayou and Trinity Bay, boats remained the locale's primary means of communication with the outside world well into the twentieth century. The flooding that accompanied the hurricane of 1915 caused severe hardships for the people of Double Bayou, as it did for many residents of the upper coastal prairies of Texas. The largely black population of the isolated rural area was estimated at between 150 and 300 during the 1930s. Churches, a number of residences, and a school marked the Double Bayou community on maps in the mid-1970s. The port at Double Bayou handled 26,136 tons in 1981. The community's population was reported as 400 in 1990 and 2000.

Church Name: St. Paul United Methodist Church Church In Use (even only just occassionally): yes Date Church Built: 1869 Rate this church.:

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