FAITH IN THE FORKS: A Sacred Journey of History, Heritage and the Holy Spirit in Pelham, Texas from 1866 to 2025.

FAITH IN THE FORKS: A Sacred Journey of History, Heritage and the Holy Spirit in Pelham, Texas from 1866 to 2025. By Pastor Kyev Tatum, Special to Black Texans, Inc.

PELHAM, TEXAS — Between two quiet creeks in Navarro County lies a place that time didn’t forget — it remembered. Pelham, Texas, is not just a town on the map. It is a holy landmark in the Black experience of Texas — a living, breathing testimony of faith, freedom, and fierce resilience.

Since 1866, the land they once called the Forks of the Creek has carried the dreams of the formerly enslaved who walked away from bondage and into a promise. And today, nearly 160 years later, that promise is still unfolding.

Pelham still stands. And yes — the Spirit still moves.

The Walk of the Faithful: From Tennessee to Texas

“They walked from Tennessee,” says Sister Alva Jean Blair Porter, her voice soaked in memory. “It took three years. They’d stop, work, save, pray — and keep walking.”

Those newly freed families followed God’s whisper across states and seasons until they found sacred ground. When they arrived at the Forks of the Creek — nestled near what is now Navarro Mills Lake — they didn’t just settle. They sanctified.

The first thing they built wasn’t a store, or a house — it was a church.

Three Churches, One Spirit

By 1877, Wesley United Methodist Church was born — not just as a building, but as a cornerstone of community. Brown’s Chapel A.M.E. followed in 1905, and Union Baptist Church in 1916. These three became the town’s spiritual spine, raised by calloused hands and unshakable hearts.

And when fire took them down, faith raised them back up.

“Baby, we don’t fall down in Pelham,” says Sister Connie Porter Hicks from her pew at Union Baptist. “We rebuild. We praise. We press on.”

A Cotton Kingdom Built by Black Hands

In the 1920s, Pelham bloomed. Over 6,000 acres of cotton were cultivated by Black landowners — families like the Caruthers, Martins, and Porters. The town boasted cafés, grocery stores, a cotton gin, and even a hand-strung telephone line.

Against the odds of Jim Crow and economic oppression, Pelham stood proud — a symbol of Black excellence and rural self-reliance.

Henry Caruthers, the town’s first teacher and spiritual mentor, wasn’t just an educator. He was a freedom architect. His classroom taught more than letters — it taught legacy.

Today, many of his students’ descendants still till the land and carry the story.

A Gospel Town, Not a Ghost Town

“Some folks call Pelham a ghost town,” says Alfred Martin, president of the Pelham Community History Museum. “But they’ve got it wrong. This is a gospel town. And there’s a big difference.”

Martin grew up listening to elders who had been born into bondage. There were no screens — just stories, songs, and the soul-deep wisdom of those who had walked through fire and came out praising.

“The stories weren’t in books,” Martin says. “They were in our bones.”

Bridging Generations: From the Forks to the Fort

This Memorial Day, that sacred story continues — through a new partnership between New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the faithful descendants of Pelham.

Organized by Pastor Kyev Tatum, the Lend and Learn Mission to Pelham is creating a spiritual and agricultural bridge between urban Fort Worth and rural Pelham — reuniting seeds with soil, and history with hope.

“We’re not just teaching our youth how to grow crops,” said Pastor Tatum. “We’re helping them grow purpose. This is where food meets faith, and where legacy lives.”

Through Farm Fort Worth, the church’s urban agriculture initiative, Pelham farmers will exchange wisdom, resources, and heritage with the next generation of inner-city leaders.

“This is not a program,” Pastor Tatum said. “It’s a prophecy in motion.”

Come and See: The Spirit Never Left

The people of Pelham aren’t just preserving history — they’re preparing a future.

“We’re getting ready,” says Sister Connie Hicks. “For every soul who’s ever wondered if God still moves in small places — come see.”

Come to Pelham and:

• Stand where freedom planted its roots.

• Sit in pews built by the hands that once picked cotton.

• Feel the gospel echoing through the trees.

• Witness a community that never stopped believing.

This Memorial Day, young people from Fort Worth will travel to Pelham — not as tourists, but as torchbearers. They’ll help restore historic churches, paint sanctuaries, and honor the memory of the ancestors who built them. It’s not just a mission trip — it’s a homecoming.

To God Be the Glory

From the concrete corners of Cowtown to the green fields of Pelham, a new generation is discovering that they are standing on holy ground. A bridge is being built. And it’s wide enough for us all to cross.

To God be the glory — and may the Forks forever keep the faith.