First Baptist Church of Celeste
Celeste, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized by four charter members, the First Baptist Church of Celeste was begun in 1887, the same year the town was platted by the Santa Fe Railroad. The Rev. Jim Price was called as first pastor. A two-story building erected on South Third Street served both the church and the local Masonic Lodge. The building was destroyed by fire in 1907, and a larger structure was completed in 1910 on the same site. A new sanctuary was built on the corner of Third and Cockrell streets in 1970. This church has been part of Celeste history for over a century.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The First Baptist Church of Celeste was organized in 1887, the very year the Santa Fe Railroad platted the town it would serve, a common pairing on the North Texas frontier where rail lines conjured communities into being. Its first congregation shared a two-story building with the local Masonic Lodge until fire claimed it in 1907. Rebuilt and later relocated, the church has remained a fixture of Celeste life for well over a century.
Why it matters
The church's founding alongside a railroad town shows how faith communities and the expanding rail network together stitched settlement across the post–Civil War Texas plains.
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Related people
- · Jim Price
Themes & tags
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