Texas Historical Marker #09412
Antioch Cemetery. Located on a two-acre site purchased in 1883 by the trustees of the New Hope Methodist Episcopal Church from J. Thomas and Oma Henry, this cemetery has long served the black farming community of Antioch. The earliest marked grave is that of Allen Delorah, who died in 1894. The cemetery contains numerous unmarked graves of early settlers and ministers. One of the earliest graveyards in this part of Henderson County, Antioch Cemetery is the burial site for many of the area's pioneers. #9412
?, Malakoff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10356
First Baptist Church on Walker Street. In 1894, the Rev. Monroe F. Jackson came to Malakoff and founded this congregation. He named it Good Hope Baptist Church. The same year, church trustees Sam Robinson, Monroe Porter, and Governor Wilson acquired land at this site for a church building. Over the years, the members of the Good Hope fellowship have sponsored the founding of several other churches in western Henderson County, including Antioch and Macedonia. The current name was chosen after Good Hope merged with Mt. Olive Baptist Church in 1939. #10356
?, Malakoff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10358
First United Methodist Church of Malakoff. Organized in 1852 by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham (1800-1865), this fellowship began with six charter members who first held services in various locations throughout the county. In 1854 the small congregation erected one of the first Methodist church buildings in the county. A log cabin chinked with mud, it was located on land donated by Mitcham's son James in the small settlement of Caney Creek. The church was known as Mitcham Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the community also came to be called Mitcham Chapel. The town later was named Malakoff for a village in Russia that had gained recognition during the Crimean War (1853-55). The congregation grew steadily in its early years and provided service and leadership to the community. In 1883 the membership agreed to move to the relocated town of Malakoff, which had moved 1.5 miles southwest of the original townsite when the railroad came through three years earlier. Several sanctuaries, including one destroyed in a 1933 tornado, have served the church since the move. From its small beginnings, the First United Methodist Church of Malakoff has grown, while maintaining its important ties to early Methodist history in Texas. #10358
107 S. College, Malakoff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10355
First Baptist Church of Malakoff. The St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad built a line through Malakoff in 1880. In 1883 a Union church organized by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham, which served both Baptist and Methodists, relocated to a site near the railroad. According to local legend denominational differences which occurred within the church established by Mitcham resulted in 36 of its members establishing this Baptist church in 1884. They called themselves the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ. A church building was erected in early 1885 on a town lot owned by W. L. Evans and in 1891 a Sunday School was organized. The sanctuary also served as a community center and provided classroom space on a temporary basis. A new sanctuary was erected at this site in 1894 on land donated by W. A. Martin of Missouri. Membership in the congregation had grown to 152 by 1917 and in 1918 a new frame church building was erected here. The congregation established an Hispanic mission in 1925. The 1918 church building was replaced with a new brick sanctuary in 1954. The congregation added a parsonage in 1964, education building in 1971, auditorium in 1982, and homes for an Hispanic mission in 1990. The church continues to serve the community with various programs and activities. (1995) #10355
220 W. Mitcham St., Malakoff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12786
Early Settlement of Northwestern Anderson County. Early Settlement of Northwestern Anderson County Early Texas settlements were often centered around institutions such as churches and schools. Even those that were short-lived played significant roles in the historical development of the state. When Anderson County organized in 1846, the area west of Catfish Creek was only sparsely populated. Community development began in the 1840s on land owned by Georgia-native Charles Gilmore (1796-1880). His house served as first polling place, first school and location for early meetings of the Gilmore's Chapel Methodist Church, the first area church. He then donated land for its cemetery and sanctuary. In 1854, local Baptists met there and organized Judson Baptist Church, moving later to a nearby site (1 mi. N) and then to Cayuga (3 mi. NW). Wild Cat Bluff (7.5 mi. NW), near the confluence of Wildcat Creek and the Trinity River, was also settled in the 1840s. It was an important ferry crossing and flourished until after the Civil War, when the river became unnavigable. Just over in Henderson County, settlers came as early as 1846 and founded a masonic lodge. In 1852, Bethel Post Office, the first in the area, opened with Gilmore as postmaster. Soon the center of activity moved near the present-day community of Bethel (2.5 Mi. SE), and Gilmore's Chapel Community disappeared. Although some of these communities and institutions did not survive, their stories demonstrate early settlement patterns and reflect the goals and needs of area pioneers, who established schools, churches and businesses, relying on mutual support and effort to develop Anderson County. (2002) #12786
?, Malakoff, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12663
Malakoff. Malakoff began as a settlement known as Caney Creek about one-and-one-half miles north of the present-day town. One of the earliest settlers in the area was a widow from Alabama, Jane Irvine, whose grist mill on Caney Creek became the center of the small community that developed. It came to be known as Mitcham Chapel after a Methodist church by the same name was organized by the Rev. Hezekiah Mitcham in 1852. The name Malakoff was chosen when the post office was established in 1855, since the name Mitcham already had been used for a Texas postal station. Malakoff was a Russian town that had gained attention during the Crimean War (1853-1855). After the railroad was completed through Henderson County in 1880, a new townsite, closer to the rail line, was platted on the Peter Tumlinson survey. "New Malakoff" experienced much commercial growth during the early 1900s with the founding of two banks, a newspaper, telephone service, and other businesses. Lignite coal was discovered near Malakoff in 1912, and the subsequent mining operations came to be Henderson County's largest industry. With its settlement dating to the 1830s, Malakoff is one of Henderson County's oldest towns. #12663
N. Terry St. (FM 90 right-of-way), Malakoff, TX, United States