An historic marker placed by the Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail notes that Bryan Neck Missionary Baptist was: Organized in 1869, this is the oldest African-American church congregation in lower Bryan County. The first structure for the church, a Prayer House, was built in 1870 on this site near the white Presbyterian Church (Burnt Church). London Harris, a freedman and spiritual leader of the local black community, was one of the organizers and first pastors for this church. The church was renovated and enlarged with support from Henry Ford at the time the nearby Carver school was built in 1939.