First Baptist Church of Blanco
Blanco, Blanco County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Led by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silliman and the Rev. Joseph Bird (1821-1909), this congregation was organized on November 6, 1859, with five charter members. Worship services were held in a union church shared with the local Methodist and Church of Christ congregations until 1902, when the Baptists purchased land and built a frame sanctuary. It was replaced in 1951, and the congregation built a new facility at this site in 1975. Throughout its history, the First Baptist Church of Blanco has emphasized worship programs and missionary activities. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized on November 6, 1859, with just five charter members, this congregation was led by Robert and Mrs. Silliman and the Rev. Joseph Bird. For its first decades it shared a union church with local Methodist and Church of Christ worshippers before the Baptists bought land and built a frame sanctuary in 1902. New buildings followed in 1951 and 1975 as the fellowship kept its focus on worship and missions.
Why it matters
Its early years of a shared "union church" reveal how frontier congregations of different faiths cooperated out of necessity on the sparsely settled Texas Hill Country.
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Related people
- · Joseph Bird
- · Robert Silliman
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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