Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

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Marker No: 10110

27 x 42 Aluminum Subject Marker 

Geographic: 30.270256, -98.866203

Location: ​520 East Main Street, Fredericksburg

Marker Text: ​​Several black families were residing in Gillespie County by the 1870s. A schoolhouse was built in 1877 on property adjacent to this later church site. Blacks probably met in the school for worship services before this church was completed 10 years later. In 1887 Oscar Basse deeded this lot to William McLane, Silas Russel, James Scruggins, and James Tinker as trustees of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Members of the congregation erected this simple frame structure, with its small steeple, atop a native limestone foundation.
        In recent years, when the local black community dispersed, use of the church building decreased and deterioration set in. Cora Phillips, widow of Paul Phillips, well-known Gillespie County veterinarian and church trustee, suggested restoring the structure for use by youth organizations united in 1974. The youth, representing half a dozen faiths, carried out repair and renovation work and gained national recognition for their endeavors. Dr. Robert Mosby, son of the black congregation's third pastor, the Rev. William H. Mosby, preached at ceremonies in February 1976, when the restored building was dedicated as the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. (1977)