Shiloh, Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

South Carolinian Gideon Christian brought family and slaves here in the 1850s. Christian owned thirty-two slaves and after the Civil War, it was these former slaves that comprised the community. Although no business district was formed, the community congregated around the Shiloh Baptist Church (est. 1871). Christian had deeded parcels of his property to former slaves, and today descendants of these slaves still reside here. Although there sre no population records available, the community declined after WWII and is today regarded as "dispersed."

Historical Marker -
On FM 1845 4 miles NW of Longview
1 mile W on Shiloh Road

Site of Shiloh School

The newly freed African Americans of the Shiloh community established a school for their children shortly after the Civil War. The one-room building was demolished in the late 1800s and classes were held at the Shiloh Baptist Church. With financial assistance from the Julius Rosenwald fund, a new two-room school was erected in 1920. It was replaced by a large brick building in the 1930s. The high school was closed in 1949; the end of segregation closed the rest of the Shiloh School in 1966. Shiloh graduates became contributing citizens in Texas and the nation. Long vacant, the school building was later used to store chemicals for a plastics company and burned in 1993.
1998

Shiloh Baptist Church Historical Marker
(3.5 miles N of White Oak on FM 3272 to Jamerson Rd.
.5 mile N to church)
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, June 2011

Shiloh Baptist Church

According to local tradition former slave Butcher Christian, and noted post-Civil War church organizer the Rev. John Baptist established this church in 1871. Services began in a log sanctuary located on 3 acres donated by Butcher Christian. A school for African Americans operated there until about the 1890s. An adjacent cemetery, with marked graves dating to 1882, is still active. revenues from oil discovered on church land were used to build a new sanctuary here in 1936. Shiloh Baptist serves the community with a variety of programs.
1993

Cemetery adjacent to Shiloh Baptist Church
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, June 2011

The road to cemetery entrance
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, June 2011

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