First Baptist Church of Tyler

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back on April 8, 1848, six charter members gathered in a log cabin courthouse on the town square of Tyler and organized what would become one of the oldest Baptist congregations still standing in all of Texas. Six people.

A log cabin. And a horn. That's right, when it was time for services, somebody blew a horn to call the members in.

Elders W. H. Ray and W.

B. Langston led the way, and they held services monthly, which given the horn situation, probably felt like plenty. Now, a congregation that starts in a courthouse can't stay there forever.

When a new courthouse went up in 1851, the church picked up and moved, meeting for a spell in the Odd Fellows Hall and then in the U. S. Federal courtroom.

They were nothing if not adaptable. By 1855, they finally had a building of their own, built to serve as both church and school. A practical arrangement.

A hopeful one. And then fire took it. Gone.

Most congregations might have wavered at that point. Not this one. They built again, a brick church this time, raised up in 1859.

Brick ought to hold, right? Well. In 1882, fire found it anyway.

Two buildings. Two fires. You start to think the story is headed somewhere dark.

But here's where the telling turns. That same year, 1882, the congregation was officially chartered as the Baptist Church of Tyler. And in 1886, they found a home on North Bois d'Arc Street, a third sanctuary that was dedicated in 1889.

They were still standing. Still calling folks in. Then in 1888, the church sponsored a mission, and that mission grew into what is now known as Calvary Baptist Church.

It was that act, sponsoring that mission, that brought the name First Baptist Church of Tyler into use. The congregation kept growing, and in 1913, during the pastorate of Dr. G.

L. Yates, the present church structure was built. It is a beaux arts sanctuary, and it does not whisper.

Massive columns, a pedimented portico, quoins, full entablatures. A building that says: we have been here, and we intend to stay. Educational wings followed, in 1937, in 1959, and again in 1980.

Modern stained glass windows were added in later alterations. From a horn blown on the Tyler town square in 1848 to a beaux arts landmark anchoring North Bois d'Arc Street, this congregation has outlasted courthouses, firestorms, and the passage of better than a century. Six charter members started something that simply refused to end.

What the marker says

Organized on April 8, 1848, with six charter members, this congregation first met in a log cabin courthouse on the town square. Led by elders W. H. Ray and W. B. Langston, services were held monthly, with members being called by the blowing of a horn. After a new courthouse was built in 1851, the church met in the Odd Fellows Hall and the U. S. Federal courtroom. In 1855, a building was erected to serve as both church and school, but it was soon destroyed in a fire. A second, brick church was built in 1859, and in 1882 was also destroyed by fire. A third sanctuary on North Bois d'Arc Street, home to the congregation since 1886, was dedicated in 1889. One of the earliest Baptist churches organized in Texas still in existence, it was officially chartered in 1882 as the Baptist Church of Tyler. The name became First Baptist Church of Tyler when it sponsored a mission, now Calvary Baptist Church, in 1888. The present church structure was built in 1913, during the pastorate of Dr. G. L. Yates. Educational wings were added in 1937, 1959, and 1980. The beaux arts style sanctuary features massive columns, pedimented portico, quoins, and full entablatures. Later alterations include modern stained glass windows. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1987