First Baptist Church of Newton

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. Way out in Newton County, there's a congregation with roots that reach back further than most folks care to remember. The earliest record of what would become the First Baptist Church of Newton dates to 1861, when the Newton Baptist Church, carrying a membership of about thirty-five souls, was accepted into the Bethlehem Association.

Thirty-five people. Not a crowd by any measure, but then again, it doesn't take a crowd to start something that lasts. The first known pastor was the Reverend R.

F. Fancher, and in those early days, baptisms weren't held in any fine sanctuary. They were held in Caney Creek, out in the open, the way a lot of East Texas faith got its footing.

Then, about 1882, the fellowship raised its first proper sanctuary near the corner of Court and Rusk streets. That was a milestone. But the congregation kept on growin', kept on changin', and in 1915 they adopted the name First Baptist Church.

New name, same conviction. And by 1949, they'd moved to the present site, where they've been worshipin' ever since. Decades of Sundays, right there in Newton County.

The marker calls this congregation a significant part of the religious heritage of Newton County, and when you trace a church all the way back to 1861, through a creek baptism and a first sanctuary and a name change and a new home, well, that word significant doesn't feel like a stretch at all.

What the marker says

The earliest record of this congregation dates to 1861, when the Newton Baptist Church with a membership of about 35 was accepted into the Bethlehem Association. The first known pastor was the Rev. R. F. Fancher. Baptisms were held in Caney Creek. The fellowship built its first sanctuary about 1882 near the corner of Court and Rusk streets, but has worshiped at the present site since 1949. The name First Baptist Church was adopted in 1915. The congregation is a significant part of the religious heritage of Newton County. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986