DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the official marker for Woods Chapel Baptist Church, as recorded by the Texas Historical Commission. Now settle in, because this one starts the way the best stories always do — with a handful of faithful people and no roof over their heads. On April 28, 1901, a group of worshippers gathered together under nothing more than a brush arbor — branches and sky, that's all — and they set about organizing a church congregation.
Leading them was the Reverend Washington Lafayette Wood, a missionary who had come all the way from Alabama to Tarrant County back in 1891. A man who'd been working this ground for a decade before that April morning ever arrived. Right there under the open air, the members didn't waste a breath before getting to work on something more permanent.
Sam McMurray donated the land, and by November of that same year — 1901 — a small white frame structure had been dedicated on that very site. And they named it for the Reverend Mr. Wood himself.
Not a bad way to be remembered. Now, in those early years, the congregation held worship services on both Saturdays and Sundays — Saturdays too, mind you — all the way until 1910. And for baptismal services, they went to where the water was: Rush Creek and Village Creek, both of them nearby, serving that purpose until 1912.
That's when the congregation made a practical turn and started using a stock tank on the property of church member Will Moore. From open creeks to a stock tank — the Lord's work adapting right along with the community. For years the congregation carried on, growing steady, and then in 1928 they called their first full-time pastor: the Reverend C.W.
Walton. First full-time. Think about what that means — everything before that built on part-time devotion and pure will.
Reverend Walton took hold of the congregation's future and didn't let go. In 1937 they purchased additional property and erected an educational building. And when the hard years of the Depression pressed down on folks across the country, Reverend Walton kept that congregation together, kept leading, kept serving — all the way until his death in 1941.
He saw them through. The church kept growing after he was gone, the way a place with that kind of foundation tends to do. And in 1948, a new sanctuary was built — one that still stands today, used as a chapel for special services.
Started under a brush arbor in 1901, and still standing. That's the kind of story that doesn't need any embellishment.
What the marker says
On April 28, 1901, a group of worshippers gathered together in a brush arbor to organize a church congregation. Led by the Rev. Washington Lafayette Wood, a missionary who had arrived in Tarrant County from Alabama in 1891, the members immediately began the task of building a sanctuary on land donated by Sam McMurray. A small white frame structure was dedicated at this site in November 1901 and the church was named for the Rev. Mr. Wood. Worship services were conducted on both Saturdays and Sundays until 1910. Baptismal services were held in the nearby Rush and Village Creeks until 1912, when the congregation began to use a stock tank on the property of church member Will Moore. In 1928 the congregation called its first full-time Pastor, the Rev. C.W. Walton. Additional property was purchased in 1937, and an educational building was erected. The Rev. Mr. Walton continued to lead the congregation through the difficult years of the Depression, serving as Pastor until his death in 1941. The church continued to grow over the years. A new sanctuary, built in 1948, is still in use as a chapel for special services.