First Baptist Church of Wharton
Wharton, Wharton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early Baptist worship services in this area were most likely held at the home of "Old 300" colonist William Kincheloe, perhaps as early as 1822. A Sunday School was started in or near present-day Wharton in 1829 or 1830. Baptist congregation was organized by 1847. That year, the Colorado Church of Wharton, or Wharton Baptist Church as it came to be called, became one of the founding members of the Colorado association. The congregation's first sanctuary was built in the late 1850s. The fellowship has been known since 1913 as the First Baptist Church of Wharton. (Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Baptist worship in this corner of the Colorado River bottoms may reach back to about 1822, in the home of "Old 300" colonist William Kincheloe, one of Stephen F. Austin's original settlers. A Sunday school followed around 1829-1830, and a formal congregation was organized by 1847, becoming a founding member of the Colorado Baptist association that year. Known since 1913 as the First Baptist Church of Wharton, the fellowship built its first sanctuary in the late 1850s.
Why it matters
The congregation's roots among Austin's original colonists tie a living church directly to the first Anglo-American settlement of Mexican Texas.
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Related people
- · William Kincheloe
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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