CHURCH HISTORIES Terrebonne Parish, LA LOUISIANA SOUTHERN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION Submitted by: Cynthia Daigle Source: The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press, Houma, LA. Last modified: 10 MARCH 2008 ================================================== NOTE: Most histories were submitted by the church to the Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press as part of the newspapers Sesquicentennial Edition. Not all churches submitted histories. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ================================================== BAPTIST - LOUISIANA SOUTHERN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION The Houma Daily Courier and The Terrebonne Press Houma, LA, Oct. 8, 1972, Sunday, Section E LSBA FORMED BY CHURCHES IN 1876 By Larry Charles By 1876, there were enough black Baptist churches in Terrebonne Parish and the surrounding parishes to warrant the formation of an organization of black Baptist churches. Representatives of the many black Baptist churches from Terrebonne, Assumption, Lafourche and St. Mary Parishes attended the organizational (meeting?) held in 1876, only thirteen years after the Civil War. Present were Reverends Isaiah Lawson, Thomas L. Rhodes, I.C. Stewart and R. Coleman. A resolution to the formation of the "Louisiana Southern Baptist Association of the Fifth District" was adopted by the attending ministers in representing the thousands of black Baptist in the quad-parish area. The Louisiana Southern Baptist Association of the Fifth District has been noted for its work in education and charity for the people of south Louisiana. Particularly since the presidency of Dr. H.C. Cotton (1890 - 1913) has the Association played a strong role in the important task of education among black people. Dr. Cotton led in the opening of two academies, schools under the administration of the Association, making elementary and junior high school education available to the black youths of south Louisiana. Prior to the Civil War, only private education was available to the black youths in this area. Those young blacks that displayed exceptional promise were sometimes taught in the home of his master at his master's expense. After the War, practically no opportunity of a qualified education existed for the blacks of the four parish area until the academies were opened. One of the two academies built by the Louisiana Southern Baptist Association of the Fifth District is located in Houma. The Academy played a significant role in the education of the black people of Terrebonne Parish. Public schools for black students became reality by 1930. The academy continued to operate until 1940 when the public school began to relieve it of the task of educating the blacks of the parish. Today, the Academy, located at 918 Roussell, is used as an Extension Center for the training of ministers and lay workers.