Texas Historical Marker #09998
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. #9998
?, White Oak, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11921
White Oak Independent School District. The small community of White Oak grew up around a one-room school built in the 1880s. After the first school building burned in 1885, local families worked to erect a new one-room school, which also was used for religious services. By 1912 it was replaced with a two-room building. After oil was discovered in East Texas in the 1930s, the school became overcrowded with the children of families who came to the area in search of black gold. The community constructed a modern brick facility in 1933, and in 1937 the first senior class graduated from White Oak School. Facilities were added as needed over the years. New administration, elementary and middle school were erected in the 1980s. (1999) #11921
200 S. White Oak Road, White Oak, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11920
White Oak Baptist Church. Formally organized in 1910, White Oak Baptist Church traces its history to an earlier congregation founded in the sawmill town in 1889. Pastor Robert Marsh led the congregation in 1910. Three years later, M. C. and Ada (Dickinson) Satterwhite joined the church. Instrumental in White Oak Life for much of the 20th century, the Satterwhites donated two acres of land for a church building in 1935. The men's brotherhood was formed in the mid-1930s; the ladies' auxiliary began in 1940. Church facilities grew as needed. White Oak Baptist Church remains active in fellowship and community outreach programs. (1998) #11920
117 White Oak Road, White Oak, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #16564
Sabine River Off Shore Wells. The vast East Texas oilfield was discovered in October 1930, and wells were soon located across the field in five Texas counties. Drilling was expanded to include the Sabine River bed, which was owned by the state of Texas, in late summer 1932. The riverbed was divided into tracts and leased to drilling companies. The first well was drilled by the U-Tex Oil Company, which was made up of investors from Texas and Utah. The well was drilled to a depth of 3,466 feet and continues to produce today. The derricks that remain in the Sabine River near this site are the last standing of the approximately 200 wells drilled in the riverbed, and are a testament to the engineering ingenuity of an important Texas industry. #16564
?, White Oak, TX, United States