Antioch Baptist Church Collection

Established by freed slaves in January 1866, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church is one of the first African American Baptist churches in Houston. The organizers were John Wheeler, Henry Styles, Edward Smith, Preston Greenhill, Daniel Riley, T. L. Brown, Sandy Parker, Wash Rhodes, Isaac Williams, Rhyna Moore, Margaret Jones and Cynthia Hill. Aided by missionaries from the First Baptist Church and the German Baptist Church services were initially held on Buffalo Bayou in a "Brush Arbor," but later were moved to "Baptist Hill" located at Rusk and Bagby. Reverend Campbell and Reverend I. Rhinehart re-organized the church in August, 1866, and gave it the name Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The church experienced a membership growth and a new site was purchased and a brick building was erected at the present site. During the reorganization, Reverend Campbell was called as pastor of the church. In 1868, church member John Henry (Jack) Yates was ordained at the first National Baptist Convention and became the first full-time pastor. Located in Houston’s Fourth Ward, the church was the first was the first brick structure in Houston to be built and owned by African-Americans. An epicenter of African American community, Antioch provided religious opportunities that supported social, education, and economic development during the ninteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Red Brick Church was designed by African-American Richard Allen, a member of the Texas Legislature, and was erected in 1875. This structure and was the first brick structure owned by African-Americans in Houston, Texas. The second story was added in 1890. The structure’s Gothic features, with pointed arch windows and doors, have been nationally acclaimed.

From Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. “A Brief History.” http://www.ambchouston.org/index.php/about-us/brief-history.