First Baptist Church of Goliad

The church's founder came to Goliad to teach. In December 1848 the town council hired Rev. John F. Hillyer to run a school for girls in the old Aranama mission, and Hillyer Female College opened in February 1849, teaching Greek and Latin, piano, drawing, painting and needlework. His contract was renewable for five years but was probably kept only three. In 1852 Aranama College replaced it, partly through Hillyer's own efforts, and he served as a trustee before moving to Gonzales to found Gonzales College. Roell counts this congregation the oldest church in continuous existence west of the Guadalupe.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Goliad The Rev. John F. Hillyer led 12 charter members in organizing the First Baptist Church of Goliad under an oak tree in 1849. The congregation met in a number of locations until 1899 when their first church building was constructed. That structure was destroyed in a cyclone and the group worshiped in the Christian Church until a new facility was erected in 1907. The 1907 building was destroyed in a 1919 storm, the same year the church was renamed Mary E. Lott Memorial Baptist Church in honor of a parishioner. A Mexican mission was organized before 1954. The church was renamed First Baptist in 1959. A new building was dedicated in 1984. The congregation continues to be active in community outreach and missionary work. (1999)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• William Rubio Carbajal — 0.4 mi
• First United Methodist Church of Goliad — 0.9 mi
• Goliad — 0.9 mi
• J. W. Fannin — 0.9 mi