First Baptist Church of Hargill
Hargill, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HARGILL BEGINNING IN 1912, THE MISSOURI-TEXAS LAND COMPANY BROUGHT SETTLERS TO THE AREA FOR CATTLE RANCHING. AFTER THE RAILROAD BUILT A RAYMONDVILLE-EDINBURG BRANCH LINE IN 1926, THE HARDING-GILL COMPANY SOLD FARM TRACTS AROUND HARGILL. A SMALL BAPTIST CONGREGATION MET IN A BORROWED CHURCH FROM 1923 TO 1926. WALTER HOLT LED THE DRIVE TO RAISE FUNDS, AND THE BAPTISTS BUILT THIS WOOD FRAME CHURCH BESIDE HIGHWAY 490 IN 1926. BAPTISMS TOOK PLACE IN BUCY LAKE UNTIL 1956 WHEN THE CHURCH WAS MOVED 30 FEET NORTH AND REMODELED, KEEPING THE ORIGINAL WOODEN FLOORS AND ADDING A BAPTISTRY. THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH HOSTS THE BUSY LADIES CLUB AND SPONSORS MANY COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Hargill grew after 1912 as a land company brought settlers for cattle ranching, and once a rail branch line spurred farm-tract sales in 1926, the community took shape. A small Baptist congregation that had met in a borrowed church from 1923 raised funds under Walter Holt and built this wood-frame church beside Highway 490 in 1926. Baptisms took place in nearby Bucy Lake until the building was moved and remodeled with a baptistry in 1956, keeping its original wooden floors.
Why it matters
The church is a tangible record of how railroads and land companies conjured farm towns—and their congregations—out of the South Texas ranch country.
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Related people
- · Walter Holt
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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