After Clarendon was relocated along the railroad in 1887, its African American population grew, and by the 1890s African Americans in the community were seeking a place of their own for worship, gathering for a time in private homes or under a shade tree to read Bible verses. While riding the combination train into Clarendon, the young African American cowboy Matthew “Bones” Hooks (1867-1951) met Reverend Sid Stephens and persuaded him to help organize a church for the African American population. In 1897 a site was found in an empty shelter, Reverend Stephens gave the new church his name and remained as pastor, and Bones Hooks helped build St. Stephens before marrying and moving to Amarillo. Pastors included Reverend Stephens, Reverend L.G. Farley, and Reverend A.G. Monagram. In May 1918 a massive flood destroyed the church building, but under Reverend Pickford's leadership the congregation found a new location and remained strong despite declining membership. In 1930 Reverend J.J. Hayden organized the first choir, which sang at services and performed publicly on special occasions. In the 1940s a building was moved from Lelia Lake to Clarendon for use by St. Stephens, and during the next thirty years the congregation held many fundraisers to support the church and celebrate its heritage, purchased the old schoolhouse for the pastor's home, and added a baptistery. As the first African American church in the Panhandle, St. Stephens Baptist Church endured for more than a century through the determination of its congregation and community.