First Baptist Church of San Angelo

L. R. Millican, pastor from 1886, was born in 1853 at Millican in Brazos County, a grandson of one of the Old Three Hundred. The Handbook of Texas says he was converted at a Methodist camp meeting in 1874 while deputy sheriff of Lampasas County, then joined the Baptists. Licensed to preach in 1875, he spent most of his life as a missionary to small churches from San Angelo west to El Paso and south to Presidio, helping organize First Baptist churches in Fort Davis, Presidio, Valentine and San Angelo. He died in El Paso in 1938.

What the plaque says

The first Baptist missionary efforts in this area began in 1881 with Dr. Owen C. Pope and the Rev. L. R. Millican, who became noted for their work on the Texas frontier. Although it is not known exactly when this congregation was organized, a fellowship known as the Baptist Church of Christ at San Angelo began in 1883 under the leadership of the Rev. Z. M. Wells. In 1886, L. R. Millican returned to San Angelo as pastor, and a state charter granted the same year changed the fellowship's name from the Baptist Church of Christ to First Baptist Church of San Angelo. Membership increased during the early years of the church, despite an 1886 drought, an 1887 cyclone, and the abandonment of Fort Concho by the United States Army in 1889. The Sunday School, which had about 50 members by 1886, contributed much to this growth by providing education and training for the members. Throughout its history, First Baptist Church of San Angelo has supported and provided leadership to missionary efforts, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. Its members have organized several other Baptist churches in the area. Over the years, the congregation's role in the community has been one of significant service and leadership. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 0.3 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — 0.5 mi
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — 0.7 mi
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• Concho River Walk — 0.8 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.

More markers nearby

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church — steps away
• First United Methodist Church of San Angelo — steps away
• The San Angelo Standard — steps away
• First Presbyterian Church — 0.2 mi