London Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. London Baptist Church, out in Rusk County, traces its history all the way back to 1856. Now that's a long time to be servin' a community, and the story of how they got there is worth a slow telling.

By 1857, the congregation was sharing meeting facilities with the Odd Fellows Lodge. Not a bad arrangement, really. Two organizations, one building, sitting right on the stagecoach route from Henderson to Waco.

Think about that for a moment. Every traveler rolling through on that route passed right by. Preachers and wayfarers and lodge brothers, all under the same roof.

Then 1877 came along, and fire took the structure. Just like that, it was gone. But here's the thing about a congregation that's been around since 1856.

They don't quit. Twenty years passed, and in 1897, a new building went up near that same location. Same ground, more or less.

Same purpose, absolutely. Then came 1930, and oil was discovered in the area. London became a boom town, and the church prospered right along with it.

New people, new energy, new resources flowing into a community that had already weathered fire and decades of hard Texas living. Throughout all of it, London Baptist Church kept on, serving with worship, education, and outreach programs, steady as the road that first put London on the map.

What the marker says

London Baptist Church traces its history to 1856. By 1857 church members shared meeting facilities with the Odd Fellows Lodge in a jointly owned building located on the stagecoach route from Henderson to Waco. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1877. In 1897 a new building was constructed near the same location. When oil was discovered in the area in 1930, London became a boom town and the church prospered, as well. Throughout its history, London Baptist Church has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs.