First Baptist Church of Jefferson

Duane's take

Now, I'm gonna tell this one the way the official marker tells it, so you know you're gettin' the real history of the place. Alright, settle in, because this congregation has seen some things. The First Baptist Church of Jefferson, up in Marion County, got its start in 1855, organized as the Missionary Baptist Church, with the Rev.

George B. Tucker serving as its first pastor. In those early days, they didn't have a building to call their own.

They worshipped wherever Jefferson would have them. The Union House at city park. Freeman Hall.

Judge Patillo's schoolhouse. The Methodist church. The Presbyterian church.

They were a congregation in motion, carrying their faith from room to room across that town. Then came the Rev. D.

B. Culberson, born in 1796, who served as the second pastor from 1857 to 1859. Now here's something worth pausing on.

Culberson was the father of Congressman David B. Culberson, born in 1830, and the grandfather of Governor Charles A. Culberson, born in 1855.

Three generations, one family, and the line runs straight through this little congregation in Jefferson. By 1869, the fellowship had put down roots in a more permanent way. They erected a two-story brick church building right on this very property.

And that building, let me tell you, punched well above its weight. In May of 1874, it served as the meeting place of the Southern Baptist Convention, with over a thousand people in attendance. A brick church in Jefferson, Texas, hosting one of the largest Baptist gatherings in the South.

Then in 1877, the congregation witnessed a revival led by Evangelist William E. Penn, himself a member of this very church. But 1898 brought a crack in the fellowship.

The congregation split. Part of the members went off and formed Howelltown Baptist Church, while the remainder stayed on in that 1869 brick building, worshipping there until about 1917. The Howelltown congregation, for their part, took on the name Central Baptist in 1924.

Now here's where the story turns. In 1937, the two groups came back together. They reunited as the First Baptist Church of Jefferson, and the members restored and reoccupied that same brick structure that had stood since 1869.

They had found their way home. And then, in 1944, the building burned. All those decades, all that history held inside those walls, and it was gone.

The congregation built a new church. Educational facilities followed, added in 1951 and again in 1973. Nearly a hundred and twenty years of splitting and reuniting and losing and rebuilding, and that church is still standing on the same ground in Jefferson where it all began.

What the marker says

Organized in 1855 as the Missionary Baptist Church, this congregation chose the Rev. George B. Tucker as its first pastor. Worship services were originally held in the Union House at city park, Freeman Hall, Judge Patillo's schoolhouse, and the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. The Rev. D. B. Culberson (1796-1862) served as the second pastor, 1857-1859. He was the father of Congressman David B. Culberson (1830-1900) and grandfather of Governor Charles A. Culberson (1855-1925). The fellowship erected a two-story brick church building on this property in 1869. It was the meeting place in May 1874 of the Southern Baptist Convention, with over 1000 in attendance. It was also the site of an 1877 revival led by Evangelist William E. Penn, a member of this congregation. In 1898 the fellowship split. Pat of the members formed Howelltown Baptist Church; the remainder continued to worship in the brick church until about 1917. The Howelltown congregation adopted the name Central Baptist in 1924. After the two groups reunited in 1937 as the First Baptist Church, members restored and reoccupied the 1869 structure. When it burned in 1944, a new church was erected. Educational facilities were added in 1951 and 1973.