The current buildings on the site are modern constructions, replacing two earlier wood-framed churches. The first was destroyed in a devastating storm, and the second one burned down in a 1960 fire believed to be arson. Following that fire the congregation worshipped in the tiny 1918 parsonage for 21 years, until the current church was built in 1981. The parsonage was replaced by the current fellowship hall in 2009.” (History of White Rock Chapel, https://whiterockchapelofaddison.org/history/)

Important Dates
Henry Keller, Sr. and his wife Mary Jane Reed Keller were among the early families of White Rock Chapel. Both were born into slavery on a Tennessee plantation. Soon after emancipation, they married and moved to Collin County first, but on finding that Collin County did not allow Blacks to buy property, they moved to Addison in Dallas County and bought property. Among the earliest families in Addison, their farm included an everlasting natural spring that supplied water for their family. The Kellers generously shared their spring water with many others at no cost, creating an important landmark. The farm road bordering their property was later named Keller Springs Road. In 1889, their son John Wesley Keller was among the founders of the Colored Union Cemetery of White Rock, later renamed the White Rock Cemetery Garden of Memories. This photo shows a gathering of area farmers at the spring on the property of Henry Keller.

1878
Formerly enslaved resident of Upper White Rock, George Coit, purchased land to farm and a small burial site in what is now Addison. He acquired the land from a white settler, Samuel Scott, shortly before Scott’s death on October 19, 1878.

1884
After gathering to sing and pray on the south bank of White Rock Creek, below the small cemetery where George Coit’s wife and a few others were buried, the founders of the White Rock Chapel C.M.E. Church bought one acre of land to build their first church. They built a log church, and they held regular services there for 34 years.

1889
More land for what came to be called the Colored Union Cemetery at White Rock was purchased by some of the church members, including George Coit, Giles Armstrong and Henry Keller, who formed the Colored Union Cemetery Association.

Taylor Tarpley and his wife Mary Ann Coit Tarpley, shown in 1914, were among the early White Rock Chapel families. They had 15 children in whom they instilled the importance of education and responsibility. The family was among the most successful cotton farmers of the area, and most of their children achieved college educations.

1918
After several devastating floods on the church property, the congregation of White Rock Chapel moved a short distance to higher ground north of the creek, on land provided by the white property owner, S. S. Noell, who employed one of the church members, Alex Thomas. Noell knew the congregation and attended their services from time to time.

The congregation built a wood-framed church and a small parsonage on Celestial Road in 1918, renaming the church the Christian Chapel C.M.E., in honor of their earlier, beloved pastor, C. C. Christian. They worshiped at that site for another 42 years.

Within a few years, the original frame church building was destroyed in a storm, and a new large, white, wood-frame church was built—the second on the Celestial Road site.

The original White Rock Chapel site across the creek was maintained as a place for gatherings on days when the parishioners tended to the cemetery where their loved ones were buried.

1960
During a time of heightened racial tensions in Dallas, the congregation was divided over relocating to a more secure and accessible spot on land left to the church in a member’s will. In November of 1960, most of the congregation relocated to a newly built Christian Chapel C.M.E. Church on what is now Montfort Road, a little north of Spring Valley Road.

A small group remained at the Celestial Road location, reorganizing it as an independent church called the White Rock Chapel.