First Baptist Church of Longview

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the First Baptist Church of Longview. Now settle in, because this is a story about a seed that just would not stop growin'. It begins in 1871, when fifteen people gathered together under the leadership of the Rev.

D. S. Snodgrass to form a new church.

Fifteen. You could fit that whole founding congregation in a decent-sized living room. But they had plans bigger than their numbers.

Three years later, in 1874, the Texas and Pacific Railway Company deeded two town lots to the Baptist church, right at the corner of Fredonia and South streets. And late that same year, they put up their first sanctuary. A small frame building.

Nothing fancy, nothing grand. Just a place to come together. Also in 1874, the congregation called its first full-time pastor, the Rev.

Dr. A. Eagan Clemmons.

Two milestones in a single year. The church was wasting no time. Now here is where the story starts to stretch in every direction.

The congregation grew. They purchased additional property right next to those original two lots. They built.

And then they built bigger. That small frame structure gave way to a red brick sanctuary in 1901. Then that building, the one that must have felt so solid and permanent when they laid that red brick, was itself replaced by a larger building in 1914.

Each generation looked at what the last one built and said, we are going to need more room. But here is the part that really tells you something about this church. It was never content just to take care of its own.

The First Baptist Church of Longview has been instrumental in establishing new congregations across the community. Northside Baptist Church. Valley View Baptist Church.

Moberly Avenue Baptist Church. Oakland Heights Baptist Church. Churches that grew their own roots, their own stories, all of them tracing a line back to fifteen people standing with Rev.

Snodgrass in 1871. From fifteen founders to a congregation that planted churches across Longview, and by the time that marker was written, still serving the community with religious and educational programs. That little frame building on Fredonia and South streets is long gone.

But what started inside it? That part never stopped.

What the marker says

This congregation has been in continuous existence since 1871, when fifteen people led by the Rev. D. S. Snodgrass gathered together to form a new church. In 1874 the Texas and Pacific Railway Company deeded two town lots to the Baptist church at the corner of Fredonia and South streets. The first sanctuary, a small frame building, was erected late that year. Also in 1874, the congregation called its first full-time pastor, the Rev. dr. A. Eagan Clemmons. Over the years, the church purchased additional property adjacent to its original two lots. As the congregation grew, more church buildings were erected and later replaced with larger structures. A red brick sanctuary which replaced the original frame structure in 1901 was in turn replaced by a larger building in 1914. continued expansion led to further building programs over the years. In addition to serving its own members, the First Baptist Church has been instrumental in establishing new congregations in the community, including Northside Baptist Church, Valley View Baptist Church, Moberly Avenue Baptist Church, and Oakland Heights Baptist Church. It continues to serve the community with a variety of religious and educational programs.