Providence

Providence is just off Farm Road 323 near Slocum eleven miles northwest of Palestine in northwestern Anderson County. On March 20, 1858, W. T. Miller deeded eight acres for a central place of worship, a school, and a cemetery. The residents and Masons built a two-story building to be used for a school and church downstairs, and Providence Lodge No. 400 met upstairs. The lodge was chartered on June 15, 1874, with George H. Stovall as first master. In 1900 a tornado damaged the building, and in 1905 the lodge moved to Elkhart. In 1897 Providence had a district school serving forty-eight black students. It was discontinued in 1905, and the children went to school in nearby communities. Church members worshipped under an arbor until a one-story building was built from materials salvaged from the 1900 tornado. In the 1930s the site had a number of dwellings and a district school. The church voted to disband in 1935. A Texas historical marker for the Providence Church and Cemetery was dedicated on June 3, 1973. A memorial service is held the first Sunday in June each year. In 1992 only the cemetery, the one-story church building, and a few scattered homes remained. Though Providence was shown on county maps in 2000, no population estimates were available.