Liberty Baptist Church
Plano, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Settlers met for worship in Henry Cook's remote log cabin known as "Lonesome House". Liberty Baptist Church was formed on Feb. 16, 1850. Elder Eli Witt served until 1856 as the first pastor. In a few years the congregation built a log meetinghouse on this land which belonged to J.F. Purcell. In 1885 a new white frame structure was erected. The following year Purcell deeded this one-acre tract to the fellowship. This brick structure was erected in 1976. Liberty Baptist Church is the oldest Baptist congregation in continuous service in Collin county. (1979)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the early 1850s, settlers on the north Texas frontier gathered to worship in Henry Cook's isolated log cabin, aptly nicknamed "Lonesome House." Out of those meetings, Liberty Baptist Church was formally organized in February 1850, with Elder Eli Witt as its first pastor. The congregation grew through a series of buildings — a log meetinghouse, an 1885 white frame structure, and finally a 1976 brick sanctuary — while remaining rooted on land first tied to local pioneers J.F. Purcell.
Why it matters
As the oldest continuously active Baptist congregation in Collin County, it marks how frontier faith communities anchored and outlasted the scattered settlements that became modern Texas towns.
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Related people
- · Henry Cook
- · Eli Witt
- · J.F. Purcell
Themes & tags
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