Walnut Creek Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Way out in Upshur County, there's a piece of ground that's been holding stories since before the Civil War. Pioneer settlers of this area, folks who were staking out a life on raw East Texas land, formally organized a Baptist Church of Christ at Walnut Creek.

That was about 1855. One year later, in 1856, the congregation moved fast. They acquired more than seventeen acres right there on that spot, and they got to work.

A sanctuary went up. And beside it, they laid out a cemetery. Now, cemeteries have a way of keeping time better than almost anything else, and the oldest marked grave in that cemetery dates to 1870.

That headstone has been standing watch longer than most of us can properly imagine. The congregation didn't stand still either. Over the years they expanded, adding Sunday School services, a parsonage, room for a growing membership.

Then in 1978, a new brick sanctuary was erected near that same site. New walls, same roots. The church still tends the historic cemetery, supports its ministries, and serves the community that's grown up around it.

From a handful of pioneer settlers on a creek bank about 1855, all the way to today. Some things, it turns out, are built to last.

What the marker says

Pioneer settlers of this area formally organized a Baptist Church of Christ at Walnut Creek about 1855. In 1856 the congregation acquired more than 17 acres here on which they built a sanctuary and established a cemetery. The oldest marked grave dates to 1870. The congregation expanded its facilities over the years to provide Sunday School services, a parsonage, and to accommodate a growing membership. A new brick sanctuary was erected near this site in 1978. The church continues to support a variety of ministries, maintain the historic cemetery, and serve the local community. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995