Historical Marker
First Baptist Church of Zephyr
Zephyr, Brown County · Texas
Erected 1985
Zephyr's name is ironic. According to the Handbook of Texas, land surveyors trapped here in 1850 by a blue norther gave the fierce wind its gentle name, and it stuck. The Lazarus Vann family arrived in 1863, and ten or twelve more families followed in 1876. J. M. Wilson opened a small store in 1878 and a post office in it a year later. When the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe built from Brownwood to Lampasas in 1885 and missed the town by about a mile, Wilson moved his store and the post office to the tracks.
What the plaque says
The organizational meeting for this congregation was held at the home of John J. Driskill in 1886. The twelve charter members were first led by Pastor J. B. Greenfield, who served only one month, and then by J. A. Jarrett. The Baptist fellowship erected its first sanctuary in 1892. Members rebuilt their church home following the devastating tornado of 1909. During its early history, First Baptist Church of Zephyr held revivals under the Zephyr Gospel tabernacle. Descendants of many of the early members still worship here. (1985)
Where it stands
31.67891, -98.79738 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Lake Brownwood State Park — 18 miA CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.
More markers nearby
- Zephyr Presbyterian Church — steps away
- Walter U. Early — 9.7 mi
- Blanket — 10 mi
- Prisoners of War at Camp Bowie — 10 mi