First Baptist Church of Florence

The Handbook of Texas says Florence was briefly called Brooksville and that its name's origin is uncertain: it may come from Florence, Alabama, the first postmaster's old home, or from Florence Brooks, daughter of the first merchant. The town grew a cheese factory, a bank, hotels and lodges in the 1890s. Florence College opened around 1895 under W. S. Holden and ran about eight years. The town has had five newspapers, beginning with the Florence Flower in 1890, and the Bartlett and Western Railway served it from 1912 until the line was abandoned in 1935.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Florence Settlers in the farming and ranching community of Florence gathered in April 1856 to hear the Rev. Robert Hay Taliaferro (1824-1875) preach and help them formally organize a church. Originally known as the Baptist Church of Christ, the congregation changed its name to First Baptist Church during the first decade of the 20th century. Several noted Baptist ministers have been associated with this congregation, including Taliaferro, the organizing pastor, who came to Texas from Kentucky in 1847 and established a number of Baptist congregations in the new state. Brother E. McDaniel served as first permanent pastor, from 1856 until 1869, soon followed by the Rev. George Washington Baines, from 1870 until 1877. Baines, great-grandfather of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, came to Texas in 1850 and served as president of Baylor University at Independence, in addition to pastoring a number of Baptist churches in Texas. In 1869, the congregation built its first sanctuary, which also served as a community schoolhouse and as a meeting place for other religious and fraternal organizations in Florence. New facilities were built as needed to accommodate First Baptist Church's growing membership. The congregation's programs of outreach and community assistance have played a significant role in the social and religious heritage of this part of Williamson County. (2001)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Williamson County Courthouse — 16 mi
  The fifth Williamson County courthouse, a Beaux Arts building by C. H. Page, rises over a Georgetown square of more than 50 Victorian-era buildings.
• Inner Space Cavern — 17 mi
  A Georgetown cave found in 1963 when highway engineers drilled test holes, holding Pleistocene fossils and 72-degree rooms that visitors reach by an artificial tunnel.
• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Doeskin Ranch — 23 mi
  A free federal refuge north of Lake Travis kept for two songbirds that need old juniper and oak, with trails at the Doeskin Ranch unit near Bertram.
• The Round Rock — 24 mi
  A table-shaped stone in Brushy Creek gave Round Rock its name in 1854; the Chisholm Trail crossed the creek near it, and Old Town stayed behind when the railroad pulled the town east.

More markers nearby

• Andice Baptist Church — 5.5 mi
• Prairie View Cemetery — 7.2 mi
• The Community of Briggs — 8.4 mi
• Mahomet-Sycamore Springs Community — 8.5 mi