Fairview Baptist Church and Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little somethin' extra on the side. We're in southeastern Bosque County, and this story starts with a name that didn't stick. April of 1889, a group of faithful folks organized what they called the Coon Creek Missionary Baptist Church.

Now, that name had its legs, but it wouldn't be the name history remembered. Before we get to the why, though, there's some groundwork to lay — because it would be several years before this congregation even had a permanent place to meet. They were a church without a building, which in Texas means you're a church with a whole lot of faith and not a lot of shade.

Then along came Thomas Gipson Smith — folks called him Gip — an early settler and financier of the area. In 1897, Gip Smith donated land for a school. They christened it Merrivale, which is a perfectly fine name, but it didn't last long.

The school sat on elevated ground, and the view from up there was something worth remarking on. So Merrivale became Fairview, and the church that had been meeting wherever it could finally had a school building to call home for the next eight years. Out back — or near enough — the Fairview Cemetery was dedicated during that same stretch of time.

The first soul laid to rest there was interred in November of 1900. Now, a community with a school, a church, and a cemetery — that's a community putting down roots. A proper church building eventually went up nearby, and for a while, Fairview had the full picture.

But the original church and school structures were demolished in the 1950s to make way for something new. That new building was completed in 1956, and here's the thing — it still stands today. Now.

I'd be doing you a disservice if I moved on without mentioning a certain early settler of the Fairview area. The marker doesn't mince words — it calls her infamous. Belle Starr, the outlaw herself, along with her husband, owned some 160 acres right there in Fairview country.

And the rumor, passed down through the years, is that she used that Fairview property as a hideout when the law got a little too close for comfort. One hundred sixty acres is a lot of room to disappear into. The marker's careful to call it a rumor, and so am I — but it's the kind of rumor that makes a place shimmer a little differently when you're driving past.

Fairview Baptist Church has marked its semicentennial, its centennial, and its quasquicentennial with large celebrations, each one a testament to more than 125 years of community pulled tight around a single congregation. Many of the members sitting in those pews today are descended from the original Fairview pioneers. Gip Smith donated the land.

The first burial was in 1900. The building from 1956 still stands. And somewhere in the hills of southeastern Bosque County, Belle Starr — maybe — once looked out over that elevated view and figured it was good enough to hide in.

Can't say she was wrong.

What the marker says

Founded in southeastern Bosque County, Fairview Baptist Church organized in April of 1889 as Coon Creek Missionary Baptist Church. It was, however, several years before land was set aside for a permanent meeting house. Thomas Gipson “Gip” Smith, an early settler and financier of the area, donated land for a school in 1897. Originally christened “Merrivale,” the school was soon renamed “Fairview” because of the view that the elevated school grounds offered. Church services were held in the school building for eight years until a proper church was constructed nearby. The Fairview Cemetery was dedicated during this period; its first interment being in November of 1900. The original church and school structures were demolished in the 1950s in order to construct a new building, which was completed in 1956. This building still stands today. A notable early settler of the community was the infamous outlaw Belle Starr, who, with her husband, owned some 160 acres in the Fairview area. It is rumored that she used her Fairview property as a hideout when eluding authorities. The church, which is still in operation, has been a source of community pride since its establishment. Large celebrations have accompanied its semicentennial, centennial, and quasquicentennial anniversaries. Many current members of the congregation are descendants of original Fairview pioneers, demonstrating how important of a cultural hub the church has been for the community. The camaraderie surrounding the church has been a cornerstone of the surrounding community for more than 125 years.