We visited the Hopwell Missionary Baptist Church just south of Wentzville in St. Charles County recently, and also looked at the historic cemetery behind the African American congregation’s buildings. The church can trace its roots back so far that at one point some of its members were actually slaves, and the pastor was white, the Rev. James E. Welch. The current church building on the right dates from 1952, and the newer wing on the left above was built in 1987.
The cemetery is very old, and I found it interesting that the gravestones look no different than any other burial ground in the area.
Located on Highway N, the old Boonslick Road, the church has surely seen massive changes over the last century and a half.
There are many interesting gravestones, and many are quite old.
This African American church was the genesis for another Baptist Church in O’Fallon called Wishwell Baptist Church, which was on Sonderen between Cravens Methodist and Sage AME. All three of them used the Sage Chapel cemetery as a burying ground. Sage Chapel is on Veterans Memorial Parkway next to the Veterans Hall. It is listed on the National Register. See Sagechapel.com for more, there are a lot of the same families as in Hopewell.
Interesting, thanks, Dorris!