Oakland Baptist Church
Roans Prairie, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized 1854. First pastor was George W. Baines, great grandfather of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Congregation worshipped in school room till 1872 when present church was built. Church was moved to this site in 1913. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1854 in the Republic-era community of Roans Prairie, Oakland Baptist Church took as its first pastor George W. Baines—great-grandfather of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The congregation met in a schoolroom until building its own church in 1872, which was later moved to this site in 1913. Its early history traces the pattern of frontier Texas faith communities that gathered wherever a room could be found.
Why it matters
A frontier church with a direct line to a future U.S. president, it links grassroots Texas religion to the ancestry of the American presidency.
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Related people
- · George W. Baines
- · Lyndon Baines Johnson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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