First Baptist Church of McGregor
McGregor, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation traces its origin to the establishment in 1858 of the Onion Creek Baptist Church (10 miles SW at present-day Eagle Springs, Coryell County). Members of the Onion Creek congregation later organized the Comanche Springs Baptist Church. The Rev. John McClain and the Rev. Martin Isbill and about 30 members of Comanche Springs Baptist Church established the First Baptist Church of McGregor in1884. The congregation erected its first church building at this site in 1886. In 1890 they joined the Waco Baptist Association which met in McGregor in 1895 and 1907. By 1911 Sunday school enrollment had grown to 280 pupils. Successful fund-raising activities begun by The Ladies Aid Society in 1908 resulted in the building of a new sancturary in 1914. In 1923 the church called its first full-time pastor and in the early 1940s a parsonage was constructed. The church grew steadily and by 1960 membership in the congregation reached 642. A new brick parsonage was built in 1961 and in 1969 a new sancturary was completed. First Baptist Church of McGregor has historically supported numerous local, state, national, and international missionary activities and a number of community outreach programs and activites.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The First Baptist Church of McGregor traces its lineage back to the 1858 Onion Creek Baptist Church and was formally established in 1884 by ministers and members of the Comanche Springs congregation. Building its first church here in 1886, it grew steadily — Sunday school reached 280 pupils by 1911, and the Ladies Aid Society's fundraising made possible a new sanctuary in 1914. By 1960 the congregation numbered well over 600 members.
Why it matters
The church's growth from a chain of small frontier congregations into a thriving town institution shows how Baptist faith spread and organized across central Texas, powered in large part by the fundraising work of its women.
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Related people
- · Rev. John McClain
- · Rev. Martin Isbill
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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