St. Paul United Methodist Church was established in 1869 by former slaves who had settled in the rural Double Bayou community. In the 1870s, charter member Martha Godfrey deeded this site to the congregation and also donated the original tract of the nearby cemetery. Born about 1812 in Tennessee, Martha Godfrey had been brought to Texas as a slave of the Mayes family, early area pioneers who settled here in the 1830s. For well over a century, the church has served as a focal point of the surrounding area. The Double Bayou community school met here from the early 1880s until 1920, when a new schoolhouse was built. Church events became important social activities, and the Martha Godfrey Cemetery, long associated with the congregation, has been the burial place of many area leaders. Funerals here have traditionally included the ringing of the church's toner, a small bell with a muffled sound. One of the oldest churches in Chambers County, St. Paul United Methodist Church has played a vital role in the area's development, and its continuing fellowship reflects the ideals of the freedmen who founded it shortly after the Civil War.