Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church
Austin (Clarksville), Texas

Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1877 by the Rev. Jacob Fontaine. Fontaine, born into slavery in 1808, became a pioneering minister, businessman, newspaper publisher, and advocate. Sweet Home was and is a cornerstone of Clarksville, which was an historic freedom community that was established in 1871. In addition to Sweet Home, Jacob Fontaine founded the First (Colored) Baptist Church in Austin in 1867 and four other important Black churches in the Austin area. He also founded the Austin Gold Dollar, the first Black newspaper in Austin and one of the first in the South. During his life he operated a grocery, a pharmacy, a laundry, and a bookstore. He was active in Republican and Greenback Party politics, and was an important advocate for the establishment of the University of Texas in Austin.

Photos: Mike Gross January 2021. (Note: photos of this church are difficult because large trees screen the entire front of the building.)

Location: 1725 W. 11th St, Austin, Texas
coordinates: 30.281195100,-97.762745500

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