The 2010 East Texas church burnings refers to a growing number of church fires (currently eleven) in East Texas

East Texas

East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...

. While one of the fires remains under investigation, the other ten have been declared by investigators to be acts of arson

Arson

Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

 and related.

Timeline

• January 1 - Faith Church, Athens, Texas
  Athens, Texas
  Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...
  
   - ruled arson
• January 12 - Lake Athens Baptist Church - burned
• January 12 - Grace Community Church, Athens
  Athens, Texas
  Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...
  
   - burned
• January 16 - Tyland Baptist Church in Tyler
  Tyler, Texas
  Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
  
   - torched
• January 17 - First Church of Christ, Scientist
  Church of Christ, Scientist
  The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...
  
   in Tyler - burned to the ground
• January 19 - First Baptist Church of Temple
  Temple, Texas
  Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. In the 2010 Census, Temple's population was 66,102, an...
  
   - severely damaged the sanctuary and has since been determined to be arson
• January 20 - Prairie Creek Fellowship of Lindale
  Lindale, Texas
  Lindale is a city in Smith County, Texas, United States. The town had an estimated population of 5,024 in 2006. It is part of the Tyler, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
  
   on Highway 69
  U.S. Route 69
  U.S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87...
  
   - arson
• February 4 - Russell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wills Point
  Wills Point, Texas
  Wills Point is a city in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,496 at the 2000 census.-History:Founded in 1873, Wills Point gets its name from an early American settler, William Wills, who had arrived in the area in about 1848. Wills eventually purchased a cabin from Adam...
  
   (Van Zandt County) - destroyed the sanctuary (ATF
  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
  
   soon confirmed the fire was the result of arson.)
• 8:30 PM on February 8 - Dover Baptist Church on Highway 110 outside Lindale
  Lindale, Texas
  Lindale is a city in Smith County, Texas, United States. The town had an estimated population of 5,024 in 2006. It is part of the Tyler, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
  
   - mostly destroyed
• 9:30 on February 8 - Clear Spring Missionary Baptist Church, on CR 426 near the Smith
  Smith County, Texas
  As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
  
  -Van Zandt county line - found burning

Suspects

A sketch has been released of three persons of interest.

On February 21, 2010, two men were charged in connection with one of the fires; because they targeted places of worship, the crime is a first-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of 99 years to life.