The First Baptist Church of Lexington
Lexington, Lee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. E. E. Lee of the nearby Prospect Church inspired Elders John Claybaugh, J. W. D. Creath, D. Fisher, and J. G. Thomas, with nine charter members, to organize this church in Jan. 1855. The original building was erected later that year. The Rev. J. G. Thomas was the first pastor. Sunday School was founded in 1866. Prospect Church disbanded in 1949, and members joined the Lexington Church, which has built five successive houses of worship, has belonged to five regional Baptist associations, and has been served by twenty-nine pastors.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Inspired by the Rev. E. E. Lee of nearby Prospect Church, a handful of elders and nine charter members organized this Baptist congregation in January 1855 and raised their first building that same year. A Sunday School followed in 1866. When Prospect Church disbanded in 1949 its members joined here, and across the generations the Lexington congregation has built five successive houses of worship.
Why it matters
A congregation founded in the 1850s and sustained for well over a century reflects the central place of the frontier church in binding early Texas communities together.
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Related people
- · Rev. E. E. Lee
- · Rev. J. G. Thomas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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