Kingston Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passin' it along straight. Back in 1880, twenty-six charter members came together and founded Kingston Baptist Church. Now, that founding wasn't just a matter of faith, it was a matter of timing.

The town of Kingston itself was being created right then, taking shape along the route of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. A new town, a new rail line, and a brand new congregation, all at once. Things were looking good for Kingston.

Then 1886 rolled around. The Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad built another line, and here's the thing, they built it three miles north of here. Three miles.

Growth in Kingston stopped cold. Businesses packed up and moved to Celeste, the town that formed at that new railroad crossing, and Kingston watched them go. But the church stayed.

That's the part worth sitting with. The town shifted under its feet, commerce drifted away, and Kingston Baptist Church planted itself in the ground and said: we're not going anywhere. They built a second sanctuary in 1947, proof that the congregation was still very much alive.

Then in 1985, something remarkable happened. Volunteers from Kingston area churches and East Mountain Baptist Church came together and put up a whole new building in one week. One week.

The railroad may have redirected the town's future more than a century before, but it couldn't redirect those people's commitment. Kingston Baptist Church is still standing right where it was always supposed to be.

What the marker says

Founded in 1880 by 26 charter members, this church was formed when the town of Kingston was created on the route of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. When the Gulf, Colorado, & Santa Fe Railroad built another line three miles north of here in 1886, growth in Kingston was halted. Many businesses moved to Celeste, the town formed at the new crossing. The church remained in Kingston, and built a second sanctuary in 1947. A new building was constructed in one week in 1985 by volunteers from Kingston area churches and East Mountain Baptist Church.