First Baptist Church of Colorado City

Duane's take

The official marker for First Baptist Church of Colorado City tells it this way, and I'm just the fellow passin' it along. Now, out here on the West Texas plains, churches don't just appear — they get planted, carefully, by people who know the soil is hard and the wind is harder. This one started as a mission station, in 1881, founded by the Reverend George W.

Baines. And that name deserves a moment, because George W. Baines was no ordinary circuit preacher.

He had been President of Baylor University, and by the 1880s he was serving as a Baptist State Convention agent. The man was seventy-two years old when he put this mission in motion. He would not live to see what came next — Baines passed in 1882 — but what he started kept right on going.

Also in 1882, a man named Reverend Peter Turner — an Englishman, the marker takes care to note, a long way from home — organized the church proper. Now, they needed a place to stand, and the land for that building site came from a man named Joseph E. Brown.

U.S. Senator, former Governor of Georgia, investor in the Texas and Pacific Railroad, and developer of the Colorado townsite. Brown donated the ground.

The trustees who stepped up to hold it all together were A.W. Dunn, J.T. Hutchins, J.B.

Putnam, Alf H.H. Tolar, and G.W. Waddell — five names worth remembering.

The first building was a small box structure — modest by any measure — but in those early years it was the meeting place for all denominations in town. Every faith that needed a roof used that little building. Until May of 1884, when a tornado settled the matter and destroyed it completely.

They built again. A similar frame building, same spirit, different lumber. And the congregation kept growing.

By 1890, Pastor J.C. Burkett reported one hundred and forty names on the roll. That same year, this church joined with other members of the Sweetwater Baptist Association to implement the charter for Simmons College — the institution that carries on today as Hardin-Simmons University.

Not a bad year's work. In 1895, during the pastorate of Reverend B.H. Carroll Jr., a four-room structure went up.

Classrooms were added. A basement was dug. Solid, sturdy, expandable.

And that foresight mattered more than anyone could have planned, because on May 14, 1923, a tornado came through again. The classrooms and basement of that church became an emergency hospital for the victims. The plains have a long memory, and so does this congregation.

In 1924, this church and the neighboring county joined together to form the Mitchell-Scurry Baptist Association. Then in 1928, the present church was built — a new structure for a community that had already survived more than most. An annex followed in 1961.

Through it all — two tornadoes, multiple buildings, a university charter, and more than four decades of growth — the congregation of First Baptist Church of Colorado City kept showing up. Active in home and foreign mission fields, counted among their number many of the community's leaders. Some things in West Texas get worn down by the wind.

This church just kept building back.

What the marker says

Founded as a mission station in 1881 by The Rev. George W. Baines (1809-1882), a former President of Baylor University and in 1880s a Baptist State Convention agent. The Rev. Peter Turner, an Englishmen, organized the church in 1882. Building site was donated by U.S. Senator and ex-Governor of Georgia Joseph E. Brown, a Texas & Pacific Railroad investor, developer of Colorado townsite. A.W. Dunn, J.T. Hutchins, J.B. Putnam, Alf H.H. Tolar, and G.W. Waddell were church trustees. The original small box structure was meeting place of all denominations until destroyed by tornado in May 1884. It was replaced by a similar frame building. In 1890, Pastor J.C. Burkett reported 140 on roll. This church joined that year with other members of Sweetwater Baptist Association to implement charter for Simmons College (now Hardin-Simmons University). In pastorate (1895) of The Rev. B.H. Carroll, Jr., a 4-room structure was erected. Classrooms and basement, added later, became emergency hospital for tornado victims on May 14, 1923. In 1924, this and neighboring county formed Mitchell-Scurry Baptist Association. Present church was built in 1928; annex in 1961. Congregation has included many community leaders; it has been active in home and foreign mission fields. (1973)