The year 1903 brought many changes to Titus County's Blodgett community. Blodgett was originally named Liberty and did not have a post office. When the Post Office Department agreed to open a post office in John and Margaret Blodgett's store, they discovered another town near Houston with the same name. Postal regulations prohibit two post offices in the same state having the same name, so Liberty was renamed Blodgett after store owner John Blodgett and its new postmaster.
The Blodgett Post Office was opened September 22, 1903, but lasted only two years. It was decommissioned on September 14, 1905 and the Post Office Department sent Blodgett's mail to the Winfield Post Office. Afterwards, mail was delivered to long row of community mail boxes in Blodgett where residents picked up their mail. There was no Rural Free Delivery to deliver it to individual houses, so residents walked or rode to the community boxes to get their mail.
The Blodgett community also did not have a church in 1903. People traveled by wagon to church services held in nearby Monticello. Residents of the Blodgett community decided that they needed their own church because travel was slow and difficult.
They did, however, have a school - a wooden box building located about one-half mile east on present-day Titus County Road 2850.
In 1903, the Liberty Missionary Baptist Church was organized and began meeting in the school with Brother Bryant Richardson as its first pastor. Full church services were held once a month on Saturday and Saturday night and Sunday morning and Sunday night. On the other Sunday morning the members met for Sunday School.
The church continued to meet in the school until 1913.
In 1913, Liberty Missionary Baptist Church moved to its present location and built a wooden building consisting of one large room on land belonging to Margaret Blodgett. There were no electric lights, gas heat, or restrooms. Kerosene lanterns hung from the ceiling for lighting and a wood heater provided some warmth in the big room. It was furnished with homemade wooden benches.
Mrs. Blodgett sold the church one acre of land where it sat for $15.00 in 1917. A tornado struck Blodgett before daylight on April 9, 1919, destroying the church building and many homes.
Members built a new building, which was used from 1919 to 1975. The second building was also a single large room, but members hung a curtain that formed a square in one corner so it could be closed off for a Sunday school room. The time finally came when members decided that they needed a piano. Times were hard and no one had any money, so the church borrowed $200 from Lucian Jones to buy the piano. Men of the church worked a "Lords Acre" in cotton, which they sold to make the payments. The cotton only brought a small amount, maybe $25 to $30 a year and the church struggled to pay for their new piano. For many years Delmer Ward played the organ during services.
In 1942 all the church records were lost in a fire, when the home of Arch and Cassie Smith was destroyed.
The building was remodeled in 1958 while Bro. Dean Blackwell was pastor. A front porch was added, tile was laid on old wood floors, and the benches were painted. An old farm house was bought, moved and added to the back of the building to be used as Sunday school rooms and a large room used as a place for the Pastor to use when he was in the Community.
In 1975 while Brother Charles Clark was pastor, Liberty members built a new brick building north of the original wooden building. After the new building was constructed, the wooden structure was torn down and a Fellowship Hall was built behind where the old building stood. These buildings were paid for by the time construction was completed.
Mary Katherine Stovall, sister of Wilton Jones gave the Church a new piano, giving Jerry Parr and Elisabeth Moore the privilege of choosing the one they wanted.
In 1995, Liberty Missionary Baptist Church had grown under their pastor, Brother Gary Griffith, and the church again built a new brick building that was large enough to place all of its earlier buildings under one roof. With help from the Texas Mission Builders and some nice donations to the building fund, the new building was paid for soon after it was finished.
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Clute disbanded and donated its nice furniture, valued at $30,000, to Liberty Missionary Baptist Church for their new building.
Some of Liberty Missionary Baptist Church's charter members were Mr. & Mrs. C. L. Smith, Mr. Cap Garretson, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Bradford, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Jones. Mr. Albert Jones was one of the church's first deacons. Six generations later, and with an unbroken link between generations, Albert Jones' descendents still attend the church and four generations are present at almost every service.
The following men have pastored at Liberty Missionary Baptist Church: Bro. Bryant Richardson, Bro. Brooks, Bro. J. S. Caldwell, Bro. A. J. Findley, Bro. George Lester, Bro. Brown, Bro. Calmeare, Bro. H. L. McNish, Bro. T. P. Lee, Bro. E. M. Bain, Bro. Eugene Cooper, Bro. Dean Blackwell, Bro. Billy Daniels, Bro. Joe Stevens, Bro. Luther Smith, Bro. Gerald Dillings, Bro. Charles Clark, Bro. Ronnie Whittle, Dr. W. Herbert Brown, Bro. Larry Thompson, and current pastor Bro. Gary Griffith.
Bro. Bain served longest as pastor.
Bro. Gerald Drillings the shortest.
Bro. A. J. Findley was pastor three different times.
Liberty Missionary Baptist Church's history was submitted by Lurleen and Martha Parr on March 12, 2008.
