First Baptist Church of Gatesville

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1856, a small group of folks gathered in Coryell County with something on their minds, and it wasn't small talk. Fewer than a dozen members, that was the whole congregation.

You could've fit them in a parlor, and for a while, that's pretty close to what they did. Early worship services were conducted right in the homes of members. Before that, the very first meeting of the congregation was held in the Coryell County Courthouse.

Not a chapel, not a sanctuary. The courthouse. They made do with what Gatesville had, and Gatesville didn't have much yet.

The Rev. W. A.

Mason was the congregation's first pastor, standing before that small gathering and holding things together. Then in 1866, something got built that tells you a lot about how a frontier town thinks. A stone building, solid and serious, erected to serve as a community school and house of worship for all denominations.

Not just the Baptists. All of them. They called it the Union Church, and the Baptist congregation met there until 1872, when they finally built a sanctuary of their own, on the corner of Bridge and 7th streets.

That was their place. Then the membership grew, the way a congregation will when a town starts to believe in itself, and the corner of Bridge and 7th couldn't hold them anymore. They acquired new property, and a new frame building was completed in 1883.

That building served them well, carried them through decades of Gatesville history, until 1936, when it was replaced by a larger structure. And it didn't stop there. Additional facilities were built over the years to keep up with the growing programs of the church.

From fewer than a dozen souls in a county courthouse to a congregation still serving the community with ongoing outreach programs, still honoring the founders who got the whole thing started with little more than faith and a borrowed room. Some things in Gatesville have come and gone. This one stayed.

What the marker says

Organized in 1856 with fewer than a dozen members, this congregation has been a part of Gatesville history for more than a century. The first meeting of the congregation was held in the Coryell County Courthouse, and early worship services were conducted in the homes of members. The Rev. W. A. Mason was the congregation's first pastor. A stone building was erected in 1866 to serve as a community school and house of worship for all denominations. The Baptist congregation met in the Union Church until 1872, when its first sanctuary was built on the corner of Bridge and 7th streets. An increase in membership necessitated the building of a larger sancturary. This property was acquired, and a new frame building was completed in 1883. It served the congregation until 1936, when it was replaced by a larger structure. Additional facilities were built over the years to accommodate the growing programs of the church. An important part of Gatesville's history, this congregation continues to honor its founders and pioneers while serving the community with ongoing outreach programs. (1989)