Site of Organization of the First Baptist Church of Mart

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this spot in McLennan County. Now picture January of 1878. The community of Willow Springs, Texas.

A gathering of local Baptists makes their way to H. J. Breland's home, not for a social call exactly, but to hear the Rev.

C. C. Hardwick preach.

Something stirred in that room. You can feel it coming. Three months later, on April 28, 1878, eighteen Baptists did not go inside at all.

They gathered outside, under a large elm tree, right here at this site. Eighteen people and one elm tree, and they organized the first church in the community of Willow Springs. That is not a small thing.

That is a beginning. The Rev. T.

D. Suttle became the first pastor of that congregation. And the people got to work.

Near that same elm tree, they built a frame church. They also established a burial ground beside it, and that burial ground would go on to become Mart City Cemetery, still there today, carrying names and dates the town has never let go of. Willow Springs itself would later be renamed Mart.

The church would serve this community from this very ground until 1893, when it moved on to a new location. But this is where it started. Under a tree.

Eighteen people with enough conviction to make something out of a spring afternoon. Some stories don't need any more than that.

What the marker says

In Jan. 1878, local Baptists met at H. J.Breland's home to hear the Rev. C.C. Hardwick preach. Three months later, on April 28, 1878, eighteen Baptists gathered under a large elm tree at this site to organize the first church in the community of Willow Springs, later renamed Mart. The Rev. T.D. Suttle was the first pastor. Near the tree, the congregation built a frame church and established a burial ground, which became Mart City Cemetery. The church moved from this site in 1893. (1977)