First Baptist Church of Lampasas

James Milton Carroll, the pastor the plaque credits with the land gifts, was a historian as much as a preacher. Born in Monticello, Arkansas, in 1852, he was orphaned before seventeen, entered Baylor at Independence in 1873 and graduated five years later. He founded San Marcos Academy and served as its first president, and later led Oklahoma Baptist University and Howard Payne College. He wrote Texas Baptist Statistics (1895), A History of Texas Baptists (1923) and The Trail of Blood (1931), and he kept one of the largest collections of bird eggs in Texas.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Lampasas Originally known as Sulphur Springs Baptist Church, this congregation was organized in 1856, the same year the town and county of Lampasas were created. Moses Hughes, one of the earliest settlers in the area, was instrumental in the church's formation. The first pastor was the Rev. Richard Howard (1817-82), a native of South Carolina who was active in the establishment of several pioneer Texas churches. A sanctuary built along Sulphur Creek served the congregation until 1872 when a new building was constructed at Main and Fourth streets. By the late 1880s a larger facility was needed and a new building was begun at Third and Key streets. A lack of funds caused delays and it remained partially built until the 1890s. Under the direction of the Rev. J. M. Carroll, local residents donated property to the church. Funds from the sale of the land were used to complete the building. A fire destroyed the structure in 1937 and new facilities were built on the same site. Since the earliest days of the city, the First Baptist Church of Lampasas has been an active leader in civic development, missions, and Baptist associational work. Many prominent pastors and community leaders have been associated with the congregation. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hancock Springs Park — 0.7 mi
  Lampasas's city park on Sulphur Creek, with a spring-fed swimming pool that holds about 69 degrees all year, the walls of the old bathhouse and a golf course.
• Colorado Bend State Park — 18 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.
• Inks Lake State Park — 25 mi
  A state park on a constant-level lake of the Colorado, between Buchanan and Inks dams, with pink granite and gneiss at the water and CCC work along Park Road 4.
• Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery — 26 mi
  A free federal hatchery below Inks Dam on the Colorado, with thirty production ponds that draw birds and a look at how fish are raised from egg to harvest.

More markers nearby

• First Presbyterian Church — steps away
• Lampasas Volunteer Fire Department — steps away
• Pierian Club — 0.2 mi
• First Public School in Lampasas — 0.3 mi