St. James Methodist Church, Livingston Parish, Louisiana File prepared by D.N. Pardue ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From the book entitled "The Free State - A History and Place-Names Study of Livingston Parish" by the members of the Livingston Parish American Revolution Bicentennial Committee in cooperation with the Livingston Parish Police Jury and the Louisiana American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1976. Reprinted by permission. Dedicated to the memory of Reuben Cooper and Raymond Riggs. ST. JAMES METHODIST CHURCH, located on La. Hwy. 22 at Springfield, was established for blacks in 1876. It was first located on Colmer Avenue, now the Cullom Road, on land donated by Dr. George Colmer, a noted physician of Springfield. (1807-1878) After being moved to its present location, the church suffered a setback in 1939 when the sanctuary burned. Another church was built under the leadership of the Rev. A.E. Franklin, and it still stands today with some additions. St. James Cemetery is located on Cullom Road on the property donated by Dr. Colmer. There are quite a number of unmarked graves, but the oldest marked grave is the resting place of Alex George, Sr., (1855-1894), the founder of the Happy Hills School for blacks in the George Settlement. Aubra Fontenot and Calvin C. Fayard. * * * * *