First Baptist Church of Plano
Plano, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation, established as the Spring Creek Baptist Church in 1852, built its first sanctuary on Spring Creek about two miles south of here of land owned by Jacob Routh. Formally organized in 1853, the congregation joined several area churches in 1854 to form the Elm Fork Baptist Association. Plano's emergence after the railroad reached town in 1872 prompted Spring Creek to change its name to Plano Baptist Church and build a new sanctuary here in 1875. Plano Baptist became a charter member of the Collin Baptist Association in 1886. A new sanctuary was built here in 1898, and prior to 1900 Plano Baptist organized a Young People's Union and Aid Societies for older women and young ladies. About 1936 the congregation changed its name to First Baptist Church to acknowledge its status as the first Baptist church established in Plano. Growth in church membership mirrored that of Plano in the 1960s, and in 1970 a new sanctuary was built at this site. First Baptist helped establish the Prairie Creek Baptist Church and a Chinese mission in 1972, Hunter's Glen Baptist Church in 1976, and Hillside Baptist Church in 1982. The church continues its global missionary efforts and its many local outreach programs.** (1994)***
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in 1852 as the Spring Creek Baptist Church on land owned by Jacob Routh, this congregation formally organized in 1853 and helped form the Elm Fork Baptist Association a year later. When the railroad reached Plano in 1872, the church took the town's name and built a new sanctuary here, becoming First Baptist around 1936 as the oldest Baptist congregation in Plano. Over the decades it helped plant several other area churches and sustained wide-ranging mission work.
Why it matters
Its long life — from a creekside frontier meeting to a large modern congregation — mirrors Plano's own growth from farming settlement to booming suburb, with the railroad marking the turning point.
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Related people
- · Jacob Routh
Themes & tags
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