The story of historic churches in Texas is the story of the Anglo-American and European immigrants in Texas. It is the story of the struggle of three cultures trying to coexist in an empty and often hostile land. It is the story of a people who successfully fought and won their independence to build a nation. It is the story of Texas.

In this book, the author catalogues 375 black congregations, each at least one hundred years old, in the parts of Texas where most blacks were likely to have settled -- east of Interstate Highway 35 and from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico. Ninety-nine counties are divided into five regions: Central Texas, East Texas, the Gulf Coast, North Texas, and South Texas.

Before independence from Mexico in 1836, the Catholic faith was the only religion settlers in Texas, known as Texians, could legally practice. To acquire land in Texas, then a part of Mexico known as Coahuila y Tejas, one had to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church or agree to convert to Catholicism. Although a few Protestant church buildings were erected before Texas's independence in 1836, most were erected after 1836 because of Mexico's strict laws prohibiting and often severe punishment for practicing any faith other than Catholicism. The few Protestant church buildings that were erected prior to Texas independence were usually erected along the margins of Texas in the more remote regions of North and East Texas, distancing themselves from Mexico's center of government in San Antonio. The first Protestant church established in Texas that has been in continuous service was organized by the Reverend Milton Estill in 1833 as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Old Shiloh, a small community located about four miles north of Clarksville. In 1848, the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Congregation joined with the Presbyterian congregation in Clarksville to become the First Presbyterian Church, Clarksville. The First Presbyterian Congregation in Clarksville is recognized as the oldest Protestant church in continuous service in the state of Texas. After Texians won their independence in 1836, religious congregations began to meet openly and to build houses of worship. Most of these early church buildings were poorly built and did not survive the ravages of time. Eventually, stronger buildings were erected. But even then, with open fireplaces and wood-burning stoves providing heat and candles or kerosene lanterns providing the primary source of light, church buildings were often destroyed by accidental fires. In addition, with time, congregations often outgrew their vintage church buildings or could no longer afford the high cost of maintaining the older, outdated buildings. As a result, congregations abandoned them to erect larger and often more elaborate edifices. Once abandoned, the old church buildings were razed or, if left standing, rapidly deteriorated. Over the past twelve years, my wife and I have visited and photographed almost one thousand historic churches in Texas. Photographing these historic church buildings and learning about the pioneers that often at great risk founded and maintained them has been a project of love. Visiting these historic churches and meeting the people that maintain them today has been inspirational.

In the 1950s, as the leader of the Upsetters, the original backing band for rock pioneer Little Richard, Grady Gaines first exposed the music world to his unique brand of “honkin’,” bombastic, attitude-drenched saxophone playing. In the years that followed, the Upsetters became the backing band for Sam Cooke and crisscrossed the country as the go-to-band for revue-style tours featuring James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Supremes, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, and Etta James. In I’ve Been Out There, the Houston blues and R&B legend Grady Gaines speaks candidly about his sixty-year music career and life on the road supporting some of the biggest names in blues, soul, and R&B. This annotated autobiographical account details Gaines's professional triumphs and personal sacrifices. The book contains anecdotes about life on the road and in the studio during a period when the entertainment industry was vastly different, affording readers a glimpse into the creative makeup of a man whose distinctive sax playing powered some of the most popular songs of the era, helped define the genre, and mesmerized countless audiences.

In Lone Star Steeples: Historic Places of Worship in Texas, Carl J. Christensen Jr. and Pixie Christensen present sixty-five captivating and historically significant structures in exquisite watercolor illustrations accompanied by brief summaries and convenient, handcrafted maps. Ranging from stately edifices of brick and stone located in urban centers to more humble wood-frame chapels in rural surroundings, the houses of faith shown in these pages have one important trait in common: They have all served as centers of cultural identity, spiritual comfort, and public service to the communities in which they arose. In their introduction, the Christensens write, “The journey behind Lone Star Steeples crisscrossed the state along back roads, farm roads, and state highways. In these journeys and in the stories that were told, certain patterns began to emerge: the pride of the people in building their churches debt-free, the perseverance of the people who endured their beloved church being destroyed by natural disaster once, twice, or even three times . . . the people’s recognition of the church as their cultural foundation, their moral foundation, their social center.” As the Christensens demonstrate, Texas is home to a remarkable diversity of people, and their places of worship reflect and celebrate that diversity.