Memorial Baptist Church of Temple
Temple, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Less than a decade after its founding in 1881, Temple was fast developing as an important commercial center. Reflecting that growth, plans for this church began in the early 1890s. It was formally chartered as Memorial Mission Chapel on June 5, 1892, with 12 members: 9 women and 3 men. The founder and first pastor was The Rev. John Hill Luther, retired president of Baylor Female College, now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The church name honored the preacher's son, J.H. Luther, Jr., who died of tuberculosis at age 17. The first building was a small chapel in an early south side addition platted by J.E. Moore, on whose farm the original Temple townsite was located, and W. Goodrich Jones, Luther's son-in-law. Moved to a new site in 1905, the chapel served the congregation until facilities were built here in 1913. Memorial Baptist Church has served its community through such programs as a radio ministry, begun in 1939, and the formation of new churches. It has been associated with several well-known Baptist preachers, including the Rev. H. Carroll Smith and the Rev. B.B. Blaylock. A symbol of Temple's early growth, the church continues to be an important part of the area's religious and cultural heritage. (1991) [Supplemental plaque: The Memorial Baptist Church congregation relocated to this campus in 2005.]
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As the young railroad town of Temple boomed in the 1880s and '90s, a handful of settlers—nine women and three men—chartered this congregation in 1892. Its founder was the Rev. John Hill Luther, retired president of Baylor Female College, and the church's name honored his teenage son, who had died of tuberculosis. From a small south-side chapel the congregation grew into a fixture of Temple's religious life, pioneering a radio ministry in 1939.
Why it matters
The church's story is inseparable from the explosive growth of a Central Texas railroad town and the educators and women who built its early institutions.
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Related people
- · Rev. John Hill Luther
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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