First Baptist Church of Coldspring

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Coldspring, out there in San Jacinto County. Now settle in, because this one goes back a good long ways. We're talking about a congregation that started with four people and a name that sounds like it came straight off a frontier trading post.

Coonskin. That's what they called the place first. Then it went by Fireman's Hill.

And it was right there, in that small community with the colorful pedigree, that Laurel Hill Baptist Church was formally organized in 1848. Four members. One pastor.

A man by the name of the Reverend Joseph Warner Dossey Creath. Now that is a name that carries some weight just saying it out loud. The Reverend Creath had come to Texas as a missionary for the Domestic Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he would go on to become a prominent figure among Texas Baptists.

Not bad for a congregation that could fit in a parlor. By 1850 the settlement had taken on a new name too: Cold Springs. Things were growing.

By 1853 several church members got together and helped form an educational institution called the Cold Springs Female College or Institute. Recognized as one of the early educational efforts of Texas Baptists, that school flourished, for a short time anyway. Then there is General James B.

Davis. Born in 1790, died in 1859. Friend of General Sam Houston.

Former adjutant general of the Republic of Texas Army. A man with connections and, it turns out, generosity to match. General Davis donated land for a church building, a baptismal pool, and a cemetery.

A small building went up across from that cemetery in 1855. The academy the community had built around all this, known by 1861 as the Cold Springs Male and Female Academy, closed with the advent of the Civil War. The church building kept standing on that site, though.

Kept serving. All the way until 1915, when a fire ravaged the San Jacinto County Courthouse. That fire changed the geography of things.

By 1918 a new courthouse had been completed nearby, and the community moved with it. Homes, businesses, and Laurel Hill Baptist Church itself were all moved to the new site. So the congregation had already survived a war, a fire, and a relocation.

You might think that was enough. But in 1950, fire came again. The church was destroyed.

And right there, in that same year, a new structure rose from the loss, and it was renamed First Baptist Church of Coldspring. Buildings were added to the complex as the congregation needed them. The church kept going.

Kept serving. In 1998 the congregation celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, carrying forward a tradition of worship and service that four people and one pastor set in motion back when the town still went by Coonskin. Some foundations, it turns out, are harder to burn than others.

What the marker says

Formally organized in 1848 in the small community known as "Fireman's Hill" (formerly "Coonskin"), Laurel Hill Baptist Church began with four members and the Rev. Joseph Warner Dossey Creath as its first pastor. The Rev. Mr. Creath came to Texas as a missionary for the Domestic Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and later became a prominent figure among Texas Baptists. By 1850 the settlement was known as "Cold Springs." In 1853 several church members participated in the formation of an educational institution known as the Cold Springs Female College or Institute. Recognized as one of the early educational efforts of Texas Baptists, the school flourished for a short time. General James B. Davis (1790-1859), a friend of General Sam Houston and former adjutant general of the Republic of Texas Army, donated land for a church building, baptismal pool and cemetery. A small building was erected across from the cemetery in 1855. The Cold Springs Male and Female Academy, as it was called by 1861, closed with the advent of the Civil War. The church building served on that site until a fire ravaged the San Jacinto County Courthouse in 1915. By 1918 a new courthouse had been completed nearby. Homes, businesses and the Laurel Hill Baptist Church were moved to the new site. The church was destroyed by fire in 1950; a new structure built that same year was renamed First Baptist Church of Coldspring. Buildings were added to the church complex as necessary. The first Baptist Church of Coldspring continues a tradition of worship and service established by its founders. The congregation celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1998. (1999)