First Baptist Church of Bangs

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Way back in 1883, out in a place called Mukewater, a preacher by the name of Reverend A. R.

Watson gathered up a small group of worshipers and did what folks in those days did when they meant to put down roots. They formed a Baptist congregation. Now, Mukewater.

That name alone tells you something about the country they were living in, though the marker doesn't say what, and neither will I. What it does say is that this little congregation held together, kept the faith, and kept their eyes open. Because something was coming.

The Santa Fe Railroad was laying line, and with it came a brand new town called Bangs. In 1890, the church packed up and moved right along with the future, planting itself on that railroad line and taking on the name First Baptist Church of Bangs. Then, by 1891, they had themselves a sanctuary, built on land the railroad itself had granted to the congregation.

Now that is a story worth sitting with for a second. The railroad gave them the ground. And on that ground they built a place of worship.

It stood, it served, and then in 1923 it was replaced by a larger structure, because the congregation had grown into something that needed more room. More room for worship, for education, for reaching out into the community around them. From a handful of worshipers in Mukewater to a cornerstone of Bangs, that is one congregation that knew how to last.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to 1883, when the Rev. A R. Watson and a small group of worshipers formed a Baptist congregation in the community of Mukewater. The church moved to the new town of Bangs on the Santa Fe Railroad Line in 1890 and became known as First Baptist Church. By 1891 a sanctuary was built on land granted to the church by the railroad. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1923. Throughout its history, First Baptist Church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1991)