First Baptist Church of Kingsville

The convention the plaque names was itself a merger, not yet twenty years old when this church began. Three congregations formed the Union Baptist Association, the first in Texas, in 1840, and church messengers meeting at Anderson in 1848 organized the Baptist State Convention. A rival Baptist General Association grew up beside it, and talks between the two in the fall of 1885 produced the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which held its first session on June 29, 1886. In the 1890s S. A. Hayden's followers broke away to form the Baptist Missionary Association.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Kingsville In July 1904, the railroad reached the new town of Kingsville. The next month, twelve local residents, led by Bro. R. L. Pearce as pastor, organized a Baptist church. Pearce served until 1907. That year, members built their first sanctuary. Other early pastors included the Revs. W. E. Dawn, J. W. Brice and B. J. Patrick. Programs such as the Woman's Missionary Union, the Baptist Student Union and local mission congregations, as well as interaction with university students and affiliation with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, have enabled the congregation to grow steadily over the years. Kingsville's First Baptist Church continues to serve the community after a century of work and worship. (2004)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• King Ranch Visitor Center — 1.5 mi
  The bus-tour gate to a working ranch of about 825,000 acres, founded on Santa Gertrudis Creek in 1853 and worked from the start by the Kineños, families from Cruillas in Tamaulipas.
• Kenedy Ranch Museum of South Texas — 21 mi
  A museum in the Kenedy Pasture Company's 1927 office in Sarita, telling how Mifflin Kenedy and three generations of his family shaped the Wild Horse Desert, with murals and an audio guide.
• Don Pedrito Jaramillo Shrine — 24 mi
  The grave and shrine of the folk healer of Los Olmos, a place of prayer where South Texans still leave candles and letters for the curandero who took no fee.
• Heritage Museum at Falfurrias — 26 mi
  A free town museum of ranch gear, a Texas Ranger room and 99,000 photo negatives, in the town Edward Lasater built around his railroad and his Jersey cows.

More markers nearby

• First Presbyterian Church of Kingsville — steps away
• First United Methodist Church of Kingsville — steps away
• Uriah Lott — 0.2 mi
• King Star Baptist Church — 0.3 mi