First Baptist Church of Dripping Springs

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Dripping Springs, out in Hays County. Sit with me a minute, because this one's got some roots worth followin'. It starts in June of 1872.

Twelve people. Just twelve charter members, gathered up together, and a pastor named Reverend G. G.

Rucker standing at the front. Twelve is a number that shows up in a lot of good stories, and this is one of them. From that small circle, they organized what would become the First Baptist Church of Dripping Springs.

Now, those twelve folks didn't sit still long. The very next year, 1873, this congregation took the lead in forming the Pedernales Baptist Association. One year old, and already shaping something bigger than themselves.

That's not nothing. That's the kind of move that tells you something about the character of the people involved. And the character kept showing.

Come 1880, church members W. T. Chapman and A.

L. Davis, along with others from the congregation, went and founded the Dripping Springs Academy. A church that builds a school.

They weren't just tending to Sunday mornings. They were tending to the whole community. Then there's the building you can still lay eyes on.

This sanctuary was built in 1901 and dedicated in 1902. The people who raised those walls had been at this for nearly three decades by then, passing something forward that started with twelve people and a preacher named Rucker on a June day in 1872. Twelve members.

One association. One academy. One sanctuary.

Some things start small and just keep building.

What the marker says

Organized June 1872 with 12 charter members and the Rev. G. G. Rucker as pastor. Led in forming Pedernales Baptist Association, 1873. Members W. T. Chapman, A. L. Davis and others founded Dripping Springs Academy, 1880. This sanctuary, built 1901, was dedicated in 1902.