Winfree Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Winfree Baptist Church, out of Orange County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one's got roots that go all the way down. All the way down to 1831, when a man named Abraham Winfree put a ranch on this land and gave a community its name before that community even knew it had one.

Eighty-three years would pass before the story really picks up speed. By 1914, folks had moved in, families were farming, and the scattered rural churches just weren't cutting it anymore. The area had grown, and the people in it knew it.

So community leaders did what Texans do. They got to work. They purchased a deed, they claimed their ground, and in August of 1915, Burton Baptist Church opened its doors.

Named for its first pastor, Reverend F.A. Burton. Twenty-three members strong from the jump.

That's not nothing. That's a congregation. Reverend Marion Stephenson came on as pastor a year later, and by 1920, that twenty-three had grown to eighty-six members, and the church had gained two deacons to boot.

Then 1923 brought something that tends to signal a community has made up its mind to stay. A larger building, constructed nearby to replace the old one, and with that new building came a new name. Winfree Baptist Church.

The community kept growing, kept adding. By 1936, a women's missionary society was established. By 1940, a parsonage was built, and ten years after that, rebuilt as a modernized brick building.

And still it wasn't enough. By 1959, the congregation looked around and decided that if they were going to keep growing, they needed new land entirely. So they bought a deed.

Five point nine acres, purchased from a woman named Ivy Winfree Kimball. The new site sat just one mile south of the old one. And here's where the story turns and looks you right in the eye.

That new land, the very ground they chose for their future, was land that Abraham Winfree had once owned back in 1831. They didn't know they were going back to the beginning. Or maybe they did.

In the years that followed, they built an educational building. Fire took it in 1980, and they built it again. Then came a new auditorium, and other facilities added over time.

Since that first August in 1915, Winfree Baptist Church has seen 25 pastors and 23 deacons. Its congregation has exceeded one thousand members. And its reach has stretched far past Orange County, funding other churches and missionary work that has carried the congregation's commitment all the way to Mexico and Southeast Asia.

Started on one man's ranch. Still standing, still reaching. Some roots just don't let go.

What the marker says

The Winfree community originated in 1831 as a ranch of the early Texas settler Abraham Winfree. By 1914, the area had grown in population and the scattered rural churches were not adequate for the farming families of the area. After purchasing the deed to part of the land, community leaders established Burton Baptist Church in August 1915. It was named for Reverend F.A. Burton who was its first pastor. The church began with 23 members. Reverend Marion Stephenson served as pastor a year later. By 1920 the congregation grew to 86 members and also gained two deacons. In 1923 a larger church building was constructed nearby to replace the old one, and it was renamed Winfree Baptist Church. The community grew and by 1936 a women's missionary society was established by the church. By 1940 a parsonage was built, then rebuilt as a modernized brick building ten years later. By 1959, the congregation decided that a new church on new land needed to be built to accommodate the continued growth. A deed of 5.9 acres was bought by the church from Ivy Winfree Kimball. The new site, located just one mile south of the old site, was on land that Abraham Winfree once owned in 1831. In the following years, the church saw the construction of an educational building, which was then rebuilt after a fire in 1980. The church built a new auditorium and other facilities over the years. Since 1915, the church has had 25 pastors and 23 deacons. The congregation has exceeded 1,000 members, and has funded the foundation of other churches and missionary work beyond Orange County, as far as Mexico and Southeast Asia.