First Baptist Church of Lufkin

The first sanctuary of 1893 was replaced in 1926, and that second building stood until the rebuilding of recent years. Construction began in 2016, and a new sanctuary opened in 2020. The project took about twenty years to plan, and committees weighed moving away from downtown before the congregation chose to stay and remodel on its corner at North First and East Bremond streets. A book on the congregation, A Light in the East Texas Forest, covers the years 1883 to 1983, and the church's historical designation dates to 1985.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Lufkin Chartered with nine members, the Lufkin Baptist Church began conducting worship services soon after rail lines reached the townsite in the early 1880s. The Houston, East & West Texas Railroad donated land at this site to Joseph Kerr, E. H. F. McMullen, and W. L. Denman, church trustees. The first sanctuary was built in 1893, during the pastorate of the Rev. W. C. Manning. A leader in mission development and in the support of Christian education, the First Baptist Church has played an important role in the growth of Lufkin since the earliest days of the town. (1985)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 30 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• Site of Rehearsal Hall for The Hoo Hoo Band — 0.2 mi
• KRBA-AM Radio Station — 0.2 mi
• Lufkin Daily News — 0.3 mi
• Site of Martin Wagon Company — 0.3 mi