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Founded in 1865 with nineteen charter members, this congregation began as Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. Early worship services were held in the Elm Grove Schoolhouse. The Rev. J. J. Butler was called as first pastor of the congregation. William Huffhines, a charter member of the church and an early Dallas County pioneer, donated two acres of land for a sanctuary. Also located on the land was Mt. Calvary Cemetery. A frame sanctuary was built in 1868 and the congregation continued to meet there until 1885, when they voted to move five miles north to the new town of Richardson. Philemon W. and Mary Huffhines gave land at the corner of Greenville Avenue and Phillips Street for a sanctuary, which was completed in February 1886. After it was destroyed in a storm in 1909, a new brick structure was completed on the same site in 1910. The brick building was replaced in 1953, and one year later the congregation voted to change its name to First Baptist Church of Richardson. Over the years, First Baptist Church has served the community with a varietyof outreach programs. This site was acquired in 1976, and a new sanctuary was dedicated in February 1987. |
