First Baptist Church of Jacksboro
Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas
Marker Inscription
United States soldiers still manned nearby Fort Richardson when this church was organized with seven charter members in 1875. The congregation met in the Masonic Lodge hall and county courthouse before erecting their first church building in 1889. One pastor, the Reverend Rice C. Farmer, was largely responsible for the location of North Texas Baptist College in Jacksboro, 1891-1897. The second church building was erected in 1906, the third in 1928-1959. The Rev. Alvin R. Bilberry (b. 1885) served the longest term as pastor here, 1925-1952. (1976)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Baptist congregation organized in 1875 with seven members while U.S. soldiers still garrisoned nearby Fort Richardson on the North Texas frontier. Meeting first in the Masonic hall and courthouse, they raised their first building in 1889, and one pastor, Rice C. Farmer, helped bring the short-lived North Texas Baptist College to Jacksboro in the 1890s. Successive sanctuaries and a long-serving pastorate carried the church through the twentieth century.
Why it matters
The church traces the arrival of settled institutions — faith and schooling — in the wake of the frontier forts that first made North Texas safe for towns.
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Related people
- · Rice C. Farmer
- · Alvin R. Bilberry
Themes & tags
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