First Baptist Church of Navasota
Navasota, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the spring of 1860, six men formed this church, one of the first of any faith in the railroad town of Navasota. By fall there were 52 members, and growth continued. Services were held in the town's schoolhouse, and then in a Methodist church, until the Baptists received a site as a gift from the Houston & Texas Central Railway, and built a small frame sanctuary about 1872. A permanent edifice of native stone was started after Mrs. A. E. Baten, wife of the pastor, drew plans in 1889. Funds came from members and non-members, sometimes as donations of cattle, and a 46' x 67' x 37' x 67' stone building with a steeple was completed in 1890. By 1925 more room was needed; a 2-story annex was constructed. Although a new, larger sanctuary was erected in 1955, the 1890 building is still used. In 1969, it was converted into a fellowship hall, and after a disastrous fire the next year was restored in 1971. The congregation-- now numbering more than 900 members-- founded and financed one local mission that became self-supporting, and now underwrites another. During the church's first 116 years, it has been served by 35 pastors.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Six men founded this church in the spring of 1860, one of the first congregations of any faith in the young railroad town of Navasota. The Houston & Texas Central Railway donated the site, and a native-stone sanctuary — planned by the pastor's wife, Mrs. A. E. Baten — was completed in 1890. That 1890 building survived fire and still stands after restoration in 1971.
Why it matters
It marks how railroads seeded both towns and churches across Texas in the Civil War and Reconstruction years.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church
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Founded as an Episcopal mission in 1864 during the closing year of the Civil War, this Navasota congregation became a parish in 1866 and took the name St. Paul's in 1870. In a resourceful move common on the frontier, the congregation acquired an existing church building from St. Paul's in nearby Washington and relocated it onto land donated by the Houston and Texas Central Railway, later replacing it with a new sanctuary in 1891. For generations the parish has anchored the town through worship, education, and outreach.
Site of Freeman Inn
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Ira M. Freeman built this two-story pine inn in 1856 as a way station and hotel for passengers on the several stage lines threading through Navasota. Travelers of every sort lodged here — among them Sam Houston — and during the Civil War it hosted officers and important visitors, while Freeman's barns sheltered the coaches and teams.
Evans House
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La Bahia Trail
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