HomeMy WebLinkAboutBCHC PR 04_15_08
P R E S S R E L E A S E For details contact: Dr. Charles R. Schultz, Chairman BRAZOS COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1200 Goode Street College Station, Texas 77840 Phone: 979.696.8483;
979.862.1555 For immediate release APRIL 15, 2008 College Station, Texas – The Brazos County Historical Commission and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) are hosting a public
dedication of the Providence Church Historic Site on Monday, April 21, 2008, at 1 p.m. The ceremony will be at the historic site at the intersection of Raymond Stotzer and Turkey Creek
Road. The church members donated the land with the stipulation that the state would erect or create a memorial to the founders of the church who were the pioneers of the area. The last
members of the Providence Memorial Baptist Church were descendants of John H. Jones, the original settler of the area. Jones received over 4500 acres on which the church stood as a bounty
grant for his service in the Texas Revolution and as an early Texas Ranger. Jones’ descendants deeded their two acre church tract to the Texas Highway Commission in 1940. The land was
being acquired by TxDOT for construction of Highway 60. By then, the church no longer had regular services and the building may have already been gone. Providence Church Historical Site
was developed by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Transportation Institute under the guidance of the Brazos County Historical Commission for the people of the Brazos
Valley. The site is on property once occupied by Providence Baptist Church which was the center of Providence Community life. The site now serves as a roadside historical enhancement
to remind ourselves of the strong pioneer spirit shown by our ancestors who settled the Brazos Valley. To learn more about the history of Brazos County and the Brazos County Historical
Commission, please refer to our website at http://bchc.co.brazos.tx.us/. For more information, contact Henry Mayo at hpmayo1@verizon.net or 979.693.5818. ###