The contents of the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church library include: 1500 photographs; over 150 cassette tapes; 70 linear feet of written documents in filing cabinets (including a box of sermons); between 3,360 – 6,720 items; 5 church registry guest books; 40 shelves of bound materials with approximately 30 to 35 books per shelf; and 50 miscellaneous artifacts such as set Commemorative plates and Sacrament set.
The church’s library documents over 100 years of history. These church records inform public knowledge about a racial past communicated in the sermons, music, funeral programs, weekly bulletins, and other artifacts in Mt. Horeb’s church library. These archival materials serve as a window into a time period that some Black historians refer to as the “nadir of race relations.” The church library collections offer insights into how faith informed the ways Black churchgoers experienced significant milestones and transitions over time. As a result, these church records provide access to authentic Black voices from the past.
As a result, the records of Mt. Horeb Baptist Church play a pivotal role within local Dallas history as well as within the broader stories of African American communities across the country.
