| Marker Text |
City's third oldest congregation. Pioneer in church-related education. Organized Oct. 25, 1857, by the Rev. Milton Caperton, a missionary. Charter members: J. J. Barbee, Mrs. Mary Barbee, Maj. and Mrs. William Barbee, Shadrack Dixon, Jonathon Ellison, Mrs. Hattax, Mrs. Claiborne Kyle (who, according to tradition, walked 6 miles to worship here). First resident pastor (1878) was the Rev. H. M. Burroughs. After meeting for years in borrowed or rented quarters, congregation erected first building of its own in 1881, under leadership of the Rev. Barnett Hatcher. Larger church buildings were erected in 1892 and 1902. Under its 1906-1914 pastor, the Rev. B. A. Copass, the church founded and opened (1908) San Marcos Baptist Academy-- an institution that is still prospering. After a destructive 1909 fire, a converted skating rink became the Baptist Tabernacle. Present church, completed in 1928, has been enlarged several times. During its first century, the congregation of First Baptist Church was host to programs featuring some internationally-known, popular orators, including U. S. Senator Joseph Weldon Bailey, presidential aspirant William Jennings Bryan, Evangelist George W. Truett, U. S. Senator Morris Sheppard, and others. |
