North Liberty Baptist Church

North Liberty's church followed the county seat's fortunes. The Handbook of Texas says the Baptist congregation was first organized at Tarrant after 1846. When Tarrant lost the county government to Sulphur Springs in 1870, the members met in the nearby Mount Sterling schoolhouse. A new church building went up in 1888 at the present site of North Liberty, the Handbook says, a date and place that differ from the plaque's 1890s building a mile away. The community around it never grew large.

What the plaque says

North Liberty Baptist Church No records date the founding of this church, but a meeting led by Elders B. H. Elder and G. L. Smith in the nearby township of Tarrant resulted in reorganization of the fellowship in 1875. This church building was erected in the 1890s about one mile from here. Then called Liberty Baptist Church, the congregation added "North" in 1946 to avoid confusion with another church of that name in the area. The structure was moved to this site, owned by Daniel Debord, in 1952. Dalby Debord, grandson of Daniel, and his wife Pat donated the land to the church in 1966. (1976)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cooper Lake State Park — 13 mi
  Two units on Jim Chapman Lake, a Corps reservoir proposed in the late 1930s, stalled by a lawsuit until 1984 and dedicated in 1991, with a 10.5-mile equestrian trail and wildlife land around it.

More markers nearby

• Townsite of Tarrant — 2.9 mi
• Confederate Refugees in Texas, C. S. A. — 4.2 mi
• St. Philip's Episcopal Church — 4.9 mi
• Atkins House — 5.1 mi