St. Violet (St. Viola)

Smith County, TX

Status: Located

Year Established: 1860’s

Council of Governments: ETCOG

Public History: St. Viola is a church community at the intersection of Farm roads 2767 and 2908, four miles east of Tyler in central Smith County. It is bordered by Antioch Branch to the north and Harris Creek to the west. In 1936 the community consisted of a church, a cemetery, two businesses, and twelve dwellings at the crossing of two dirt roads. By 1952 local children attended classes within the Chapel Hill Independent School District. A 1972 map showed a church, a cemetery, and a sizeable collection of homes at St. Viola. The community was still shown on the 1981 county highway map.

Community History: St. Violet Baptist Church is at this location – according to Clyde McQueen’s “Black Churches in Texas: A Guide to Historic Congregations,” the St. Violet congregation was established in 1866. It appears on USGS maps as St. Viola, and the cemetery, about 3/4 mile east, is also listed as St. Viola in some sources.

Cemetery: St. Viola Cemetery

School: unknown (Chapel Hill Independent School District)