First Baptist Church of Farmersville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Farmersville. Now, picture this: it's May 14, 1865, and there's no grand cathedral, no stained glass, no pews polished to a shine. Just fifteen people, fifteen charter members, gathered under a brush arbor, right there on that very site.

That's where the First Baptist Church of Farmersville drew its first breath. And the man they chose to lead them? The Reverend John C.

Averitt, born in 1818, who would live all the way to 1895; a man with some years on him and presumably some wisdom to match. For a while, this congregation made do. Worship services moved through private homes, then eventually found a more dignified, if borrowed, home in the Masonic Hall on the east side of the town square.

Not their building, not their walls, but they showed up anyway. Then came a revival. An interdenominational revival, meaning the Baptists weren't the only ones feeling the fire, and it was, by the marker's own account, successful.

Successful enough that the congregation decided the time had come to stop borrowing rooms and start building something of their own. They went back to the beginning, bought the site of that old brush arbor, and in 1877 raised a simple frame church right on the ground where it all started. They even put a bell in the steeple.

And that bell didn't just ring for Sunday services; it heralded special events out to the whole community. Folks within earshot knew when something worth knowing about was happening. But Farmersville kept growin', and so did the congregation's ambitions.

Another revival came along in 1898; successful again, these Farmersville Baptists had a knack for that, and this one made it plain: they needed a larger structure. More land was acquired, and in 1900 the present church building went up. Now this is where the story gets architectural, and I mean that in the best possible way.

The building that rose in 1900 is a brick edifice, and it doesn't pick just one style and stick to it; it's a combination of several architectural styles. The roof is pressed metal. The exterior walls of the sanctuary form a multisided projection, flanked by matching towers with steeply pitched roofs.

It's the kind of building that makes you stop and look twice. And that bell, the one from the 1877 frame church, the one that had been calling the community together for over two decades, it didn't get left behind. It was transferred to the north belfry of the new building.

Some things, you carry forward. The congregation kept building in other ways too. Educational buildings were added in 1938, and again in 1955 and 1956.

A church-sponsored library grew up to serve the broader community. Several well-known Baptist leaders came through those doors and served as pastor. Fifteen people under a brush arbor.

A frame church. A brick edifice with matching towers and a bell that's been ringing across Collin County since 1877. That's not just a church, that's a story told in steeples.

What the marker says

Fifteen charter members, meeting under a brush arbor at this site on May 14, 1865, organized the First Baptist Church and chose the Rev. John C. Averitt (1818-1895) as the first pastor. Worship services were held in private homes and later in the Masonic Hall on the east side of the town square. After a successful interdenominational revival, the Baptists decided to erect a permanent church building. The congregation bought the site of the old brush arbor and in 1877 built a simple frame church. A bell installed in the steeple heralded special events to the community. Another successful revival in 1898 emphasized the need for a larger structure. More land was acquired and the present church building constructed in 1900. A combination of several architectural styles, the brick edifice is topped by a roof of pressed metal. The exterior walls of the sanctuary form a multisided projection flanked by matching towers with steeply pitched roofs. The bell from the 1877 church was transferred to the north belfry. Educational buildings were added in 1938 and 1955-56. This congregation provides many community-oriented services, including a church-sponsored library. Several well-known Baptist leaders served as pastor here.**Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1977***