Mrs. Boling Williams, Miss Margaret Chilton, and the Roach family began meeting in the home of Mrs. A. V. Roach in Mansfield, Louisiana, in 1897 (Buecker, 1985). This led to the organization of the Mansfield SDA church on October 6, 1900, by Elder S. B. Horton following a series of tent meetings (Review, 1901). On November 17, 1902, a lot was purchased on College Street (now Louisiana Avenue) and a church was built. It was later found that part of the property belonged to P. C. Fair who lived on the corner lot. A letter from him demanded removal of the church building. The problem was resolved by an exchange of land made July 10, 1911. In 1912 the church building burned to the ground and the church records from 1897-1912 were destroyed in the fire. The lot stood vacant for two years but some of the charter members, Ruby Hill Roach, Margaret Chilton, and Ida Taliaferro, led in the purchase of an 1869 Methodist church building for $500 and for an additional $300 had it moved to the empty lot in 1914. An additional $80 was paid to cut 23 feet off the back end of the building so it would fit on the lot. The title was transferred from the Methodist church to the Louisiana Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists on August 25, 1915. In 1944 it was transferred to the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Review, 1915 & 1951; Buecker, 1985).
By August 1989, the congregation had dwindled to very few members after several had moved away, and older members had passed away. The building was sold to a Baptist congregation. At that time, Ida’s daughter, Edith, by then one of the oldest members, joined the Shreveport First SDA church and donated the offering plate and the platform chairs, which were very ornate wood with red velvet upholstery, from the Mansfield church to the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Citations
(1901, May 28). Review and Herald, p. 14.
(1915, Mar 25). Ibid, pp. 16, 17.
(1951, Dec 27). Ibid, p. 22.
(1969, Apr 26). Southwestern Union Record, pp. 6, 7.
Buecker, Bill. (2022, Jan 11). Phone conversation with Rebecca Burton.
Buecker, Bill. (2023, Jan 26. Text message to Rebecca Burton.
Buecker, Edith Taliaferro. (1985, Nov). History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mansfield, Louisiana.
Buecker, Melvin. (2022, Jan 11). Phone conversation with Rebecca Burton.
How it all Began 