Grant supports new windows for Redlands Church
With the awarding of a Bess Rayford Foundation grant and additional funding from the Rusk County Historical Foundation, the Rusk County Historical Commission was able to outfit the Redlands Church with much-needed, all-new multi-paned UV windows.
The combined Methodist and Baptist congregation first began meeting in a one-room log cabin at Chinquapin Springs in 1873. In 1887, Mr. Hugh Blair donated the land at the current site, one mile east, and the cabin was relocated. The building served as a Union Church and School, and a frame sanctuary was added.
The two congregations shared the site until 1906, when the Baptist contingent moved to Oak Flat and formed the Smyrna Missionary Baptist Church. The facility, now renamed Redlands Church, continued to house the Methodists until 1964.
Today, Redlands Church is sitting vacant, just outside of Laneville, looking for a little TLC and a homeless congregation. Please contact the Rusk County Historical Commission at 817-223-4895 or historicalcommission@ruskcountytx.gov for more information.
