DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Picture this: it's April 28, 1878, and the Reverend Thomas D. Suttle has gathered eighteen Baptists under a large elm tree — not inside a fine sanctuary, not beneath a steeple, but under a tree.
That's where the First Baptist Church of Mart began its life. The place was a mile southeast of where Mart sits today, out at what would become Mart City Cemetery, and the town itself wasn't even called Mart yet — it went by Willow Springs back then. Eighteen souls and one reverend, standing in the shade of that elm, and they organized the first church in the whole town.
Not just the first Baptist church. The first church, period. Now that's a founding worth remembering.
Close by that very tree, the fellowship built themselves a proper structure — and being practical Texas Baptists, they made it do double duty as a schoolhouse. Worship on Sunday, lessons through the week. By 1880, burials had begun in the adjacent cemetery, the ground next to that same spot where it all started.
Then came the pastorate of the Reverend B.F. Tatum — and this is where the story picks up considerable steam. Tatum served two stretches: 1889 to 1896, and then again 1899 to 1900.
During those years, membership almost quadrupled. Almost quadrupled. Whatever that man was doing from the pulpit, it was working.
The congregation kept growing and kept moving to match its ambition. In 1893 the church relocated to Navarro Avenue, and then in 1906 it moved again to the present location. From an elm tree in Willow Springs to a permanent home in the city of Mart — that's a long walk for one congregation, and every step of it is written right there on the marker.
What the marker says
The Rev. Thomas D. Suttle (1840-1900) and 18 Baptists assembled on April 28, 1878, under a large elm tree at the present site of Mart City Cemetery (1 mi. SE). There they organized the first church in the town of Mart, originally named Willow Springs. Near the tree, the fellowship built a church which also served as a schoolhouse. Burials in the adjacent cemetery began in 1880. During the pastorate of the Rev. B.F. Tatum (1853-1928), 1889-96 and 1899-1900, membership almost quadrupled. In 1893 the church moved to Navarro Avenue and in 1906 to the present location. (1977)