First Baptist Church of Rice

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Baptist Church of Rice. Now settle in, because this story starts, as so many Texas stories do, with a railroad. Three years after a rail line was built to the area, on February 21, 1875, a group of local residents got together and decided they were going to be a congregation.

No building, no steeple, no pews to speak of. They held their early worship services right there in the community schoolhouse. Borrowed walls, borrowed benches, but the faith was entirely their own.

Now, they weren't content to stay that way forever. In 1894, they constructed a sanctuary, right here at this site. And the land they built it on came from the Rice Institute, a Houston organization.

That organization had been founded by a railroadman named William Marsh Rice, and if that name sounds familiar, well, it should, because this very town was named for him. The land came from the institute bearing his name, and the church rose up on it. For over a century, the First Baptist Church has led in the development of the area.

The marker puts it plainly: its role in the community continues to reflect the ideals of its pioneer founders. Those people who gathered on a February day in 1875 didn't just start a church. They set a standard that the community has been measuring itself against ever since.

What the marker says

On Feb. 21, 1875, three years after a rail line was built to the area, a group of local residents met to organize this congregation. Early worship services were conducted in the community schoolhouse. In 1894 a sanctuary was constructed at this site on land acquired from Rice Institute, a Houston organization founded by railroadman William Marsh Rice, for whom this town was named. For over a century, the First Baptist Church has led in the development of the area. Its role in the community continues to reflect the ideals of its pioneer founders. (1983)