First Baptist Church Georgetown

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church Georgetown. Now, before there was a building, before there was a pew or a steeple, there was just somebody's front room. In the early years of Georgetown, Baptist preachers, including Reverend George W.

Baines, conducted worship services in people's homes. That's where it started. A faith community gathering wherever it could, waiting for the moment when Georgetown's population would grow large enough to demand something permanent.

That moment came. On October 30, 1866, the First Baptist Church Georgetown was established, and it launched with exactly thirteen members. They weren't worshipping in a church building just yet.

They met in the Union building, a school at Seventh and Myrtle Streets that served several denominations on Sundays. One building, many congregations, sharing the space the way neighbors share a well. Then came 1879, and things got serious.

Major W. E. Penn, a Southern lay evangelist, held a camp meeting at the fair grounds, the place that's now called San Gabriel Park, near Five Springs.

Hundreds attended. Hundreds were baptized, including many from the First Baptist Church itself. That same year, a group of Baptist women formed the Ladies Aid Society, dedicated to supporting foreign missions, education, and Buckner's orphanage.

Two things happening in one year, and both of them pointed the same direction: outward, toward the wider world. Back home, the congregation kept growing. Sometime in the 1880s, Mrs.

Lizzie Glasscock Talbot donated land at Sixth and Church Streets for a church and a parsonage. That was generous. That was necessary.

But membership kept climbing, and the building the congregation had was not going to hold what was coming. So in 1926, Mrs. Helen Boatner Glasscock donated land at Tenth and Main Streets, and a new church was erected.

The congregation had a home worthy of its size, at least for a while. Then in 1987, the church relocated again, this time to its current location on Highway 29. And in 1917, in the middle of all that growth and movement, the church congregation had formed the Williamson County Baptist Association, weaving itself into the broader fabric of faith across the county.

Today, the First Baptist Church Georgetown counts more than four thousand members and continues to support local organizations and churches. From thirteen souls in a borrowed schoolroom to a congregation that size, through land donations and camp meetings and a Ladies Aid Society and a county association, this church has been, as the marker puts it, a committed source of faith in the community. Thirteen members to four thousand.

Georgetown grew, and the church grew right alongside it.

What the marker says

In the early years of Georgetown, Baptist preachers, including Reverend George W. Baines, conducted worship services in people's homes. Because of the booming population, there was a need for the Baptists to have a place of worship. The First Baptist Church Georgetown was established on October 30, 1866, with thirteen members. The worshippers met in the Union building, a school that served as a church for several denominations on Sundays located at Seventh and Myrtle Streets. In 1879, Major W.E. Penn, a Southern lay evangelist, held a camp meeting at the "fair grounds" (now called San Gabriel Park) near Five Springs. Hundreds attended and were baptized, including many of the First Baptist Church. Also in 1879, a group of Baptist women formed the Ladies Aid Society to support foreign missions, education and Buckner's orphanage. In 1917, the church congregation formed the Williamson County Baptist Association. In the 1880s, Mrs. Lizzie Glasscock Talbot donated land at Sixth and Church Streets for a church and parsonage. As membership grew, however, a larger facility was needed. In 1926, Mrs. Helen Boatner Glasscock donated land on Tenth and Main Streets and a new church was erected. The church relocated to this location on highway 29 in 1987. With more than 4,000 members, the congregation continues to support local organizations and churches. Through education, missions and outreach, the First Baptist Church Georgetown has been a committed source of faith in the community.