First Baptist Church of Meridian
Meridian, Bosque County, Texas
Marker Inscription
John Clabaugh and W.A. Mason, missionaries for the Texas Baptist Convention, established First Baptist Church of Meridian on March 13, 1859 with ten area residents. Circuit-riding preachers conducted the first worship services, and the congregation met in the county courthouse and in the community school until members constructed a church building in the 1870s. The church moved to new sites in 1888 and again in 1947. Missions hae been a primary focus of the congregation; members have also worked with area youth and with the elderly. Today, First Baptist Church continues to serve as a spirtual leader for the residents of Meridian.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1859, two years before the Civil War, missionaries of the Texas Baptist Convention gathered ten residents of Meridian to found this frontier congregation in newly settled Bosque County. In an age before permanent buildings, circuit-riding preachers carried the Sunday sermon from town to town, and the fledgling church made do in the county courthouse and the community schoolhouse until members raised a sanctuary in the 1870s. The congregation rebuilt on new ground in 1888 and again in 1947 as the town grew around it.
Why it matters
Frontier churches were often the first civic institutions in a new county, binding scattered settlers into a community long before courthouses and schools took permanent form.
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Themes & tags
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