DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it right along to you. You're rolling through Corsicana, Navarro County, and the ground beneath you has got more history soaked into it than you might expect — so settle in. This one goes back a long way.
Back to 1848, when Texas was still finding its footing and a Baptist fellowship in these parts was getting itself organized. The church that would one day become First Baptist Church of Corsicana didn't start with that name. It started as the United Baptist Church, brought to life through the leadership of the Reverend Noah Turner Byars — a pioneer preacher and founder of the Trinity River Baptist Association.
Now that title, pioneer preacher, is not just a courtesy. The man was building something from the ground up in a place where the ground itself was barely settled. The organizational meeting in 1848 had some serious weight behind it.
Judge R. E. B.
Baylor and the Reverend Z. N. Morrell — early Texas Baptist leaders, both of them — presided over that gathering.
When you've got names like that in the room, the occasion carries some gravity. Early on, the congregation didn't have a building to call its own. They worshiped in a community building, sharing the space with the local Presbyterian and Methodist congregations.
Three different traditions, one roof. You can imagine the scheduling conversations. Then came 1865 — and the pastorate of the Reverend S.
G. Mullins — and the members made a move. A vacant store on the corner of Third Avenue and Eleventh Street became their house of worship.
Not a sanctuary by design, but it served them. And it kept serving them for ten years. After that, the congregation constructed sanctuaries at two other sites before finally arriving at this location in 1901.
Each move a chapter. Each building a new chapter. An educational building was added later and named for Kate Stiteler McKie, an early member and benefactor of the church — her name attached to the work she helped make possible.
Now, the pastors who served here over the years — that list has some range to it. The Reverend W. B.
Bagby went on to become the first Southern Baptist missionary to Brazil. The Reverend J. Howard Williams later became president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
These weren't men passing through on their way to somewhere else — or some of them were, and they left marks bigger than their tenure. The church has also served as sponsor for four area congregations: Memorial, Calvary, Northside, and Iglesia Bautista Calvario. That's the quiet kind of legacy — not a plaque on a wall, but a living thing that keeps multiplying.
From a shared community building in 1848 to four daughter congregations and a story that stretches the length of Texas history itself. Not bad for a fellowship that started in a borrowed room.
What the marker says
Originally known as the United Baptist Church, this fellowship was established through the leadership of the Rev. Noah Turner Byars, a pioneer preacher and founder of the Trinity River Baptist Association. The church organizational meeting was conducted in 1848 with early Texas Baptist leaders Judge R. E. B. Baylor and the Rev. Z. N. Morrell presiding. Worship services were first held in a community building shared with the local Presbyterian and Methodist congregations. In 1865, during the pastorate of the Rev. S. G. Mullins, the members moved to a vacant store at the corner of Third Avenue and Eleventh Street, where they worshiped for ten years. Sanctuaries were constructed at two other sites before the church moved to this location in 1901. An educational building, added later, was named for an early member and benefactor, Kate Stiteler McKie. Prominent pastors here have included the Rev. W. B. Bagby, first Southern Baptist missionary to Brazil, and the Rev. J. Howard Williams, later president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Active in mission work, the church has served as sponsor for four area congregations: Memorial, Calvary, Northside, and Iglesia Bautista Calvario.