First Baptist Church of Hillsboro

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Hillsboro. Now settle in, because this story starts before Hill County even had a name on a map. Baptist ministry in this area can be traced to a man named the Rev.

J. M. Samford, who arrived in the vicinity in the 1840s.

That's deep roots, friend. Deep roots. Hill County wasn't even formed yet.

That came in 1853, and when it did, Hillsborough, later known as Hillsboro, was chosen as the county seat. The earliest recorded Baptist minister in Hillsboro proper was the Rev. J.

M. Perry, who is said to have formed a congregation in 1855. Now here's where the story gets a little hazy, in the way old stories do.

Whether the members of that congregation had any hand in what came next, well, nobody knows for certain. The marker says so itself. What we do know is that the congregation first known as the Baptist Church of Hillsboro was organized in 1874 and fully established in 1875.

And when a congregation gets fully established, you want to know who was standing there at the founding. The charter members were A. M.

Isaacs, Nancy and Henry Procise, Fannie and the Rev. P. G.

Booth, Julia Johnson, Alabama Ponder, and Julia Reavis. Nine people with their names written into the record. That congregation didn't go it alone, either.

The Baptist churches in Peoria, Towash, and Union, later called Hubbard, all lent a hand in getting things established. Community helping community. By 1879, the minutes of the Towash Baptist Association reflect that the Baptist Church of Hillsboro reported 18 members that year.

Eighteen souls on the roll. Now the congregation needed a place to gather, and they built one. A frame structure, erected for fourteen hundred dollars.

It stood and served until 1905, when it was razed. But here's the thing about people who build to last. Part of the materials from that old frame building were used in the construction of a new brick edifice nearby.

Nothing wasted. The church grew steadily through the twentieth century. In 1950, an educational building went up at a cost of a hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars.

Then in 1963, a new sanctuary was erected. And through all those years, some names came through that pulpit that Texans still remember. The Rev.

George Baines. Dr. George W.

Truett. Dr. J.

M. Dawson. Legendary Texas Baptist preachers, the marker calls them, and it's not exaggerating.

From one itinerant minister arriving in the 1840s to a congregation that has carried its traditions and its community service right into the present day. The Baptist Church of Hillsboro. Later the First Baptist Church of Hillsboro.

Still standing, still going.

What the marker says

Baptist ministry in this area can be traced to the Rev. J. M. Samford, who arrived in the vicinity in the 1840s. Hill County was formed in 1853, and Hillsborough (later Hillsboro) was chosen as county seat. The earliest recorded Baptist minister in Hillsboro was the Rev. J. M. Perry, who is said to have formed a congregation in 1855. It is unknown whether members of this congregation were participants in the formation of the congregation first known as "The Baptist Church of Hillsboro." The Baptist Church of Hillsboro, later the First Baptist Church of Hillsboro, was organized in 1874 and fully established in 1875. Charter members were A. M. Isaacs, Nancy and Henry Procise, Fannie and the Rev. P. G. Booth, Julia Johnson, Alabama Ponder and Julia Reavis. The congregation's establishment was aided by Baptist churches in Peoria, Towash and Union (later Hubbard). The minutes of the 1879 meeting of the Towash Baptist Association reflect that the Baptist Church of Hillsboro reported 18 members that year. The Hillsboro congregation's first facility, a frame structure erected for $1,400, was razed in 1905 and part of the materials were used in the construction of a new brick edifice nearby. The church grew steadily in the 20th century. In 1950 an educational building was constructed at a cost of $135,000. A new sanctuary was erected in 1963. Many legendary Texas Baptist preachers have graced the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Hillsboro, including the Rev. George Baines, Dr. George W. Truett and Dr. J. M. Dawson. The congregation continues to uphold the traditions of its founders with many programs of worship and community service. (2000)