In the early twentieth century, African American workers in the Pflugerville cotton industry were not allowed to buy property in town. In 1910, La Rue Noton, a farmer who owned around 1,200 acres west of Pflugerville, set aside an acre and sold lots to the workers for fifty dollars each, and the settlement was recorded in county records as Pflugerville’s colored addition. In 1909, Reverend Square Roberts held church services under a brush arbor on the Fritz Pfluger Farm in the colored addition, and a few months later services were held in the schoolhouse. In January 1910, under Reverend Roberts’ leadership, a Baptist church was organized, and at the first meeting Sister Luella Henry suggested the name St. Mary Baptist Church, which was adopted. During the early years many pastors led the congregation. In 1914, a lot was purchased for the first church building, which was completed between 1914 and 1916. During Reverend Nelson’s tenure in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the building was moved from the back lot to the front, and as attendance increased, the church was remodeled and expanded. With an active Sunday school program, organization of the Baptist Training Union, and fellowship with other area churches, St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church forged ties in the community and grew from twenty members to more than 400 over more than a century.