School Creek Baptist Church

Leander Randon Millican, the church's organizer, had been a Lampasas County deputy sheriff when he was converted at a Methodist camp meeting in 1874. He joined the Baptist church in Lampasas, studied at Baylor and was licensed to preach in 1875. From 1879 he was a missionary, first for the San Saba Association and then across the country from San Angelo to El Paso and Presidio, often on horseback and sometimes preaching in saloons. In 1915 he and George W. Truett began the cowboy camp meeting that became the Paisano Baptist Encampment.

What the plaque says

School Creek Baptist Church Named for a nearby stream, this church organized in 1879 and held its first worship service on November 2 of that year. A small schoolhouse close to School Creek was the first building to house the church. The Rev. L.R. Millican served as primary organizer and first pastor of the church. Members of the congregation in 1879 included Brothers Philip Smith, John W. Moore, Solan Mace, W.M. Wren, and J.I. Scott, and Sisters C.L. Smith, S. F. Moore, D. Mace, S.E. Wren, Harriet Holly, Rebecca Wilson, Sallie Mitchell, F.E. Scott, Wilson H. Hurst and Sally Hawkins. In 1900, plans began for construction of a church building, which was completed the next year on land donated by the Philip Smith family. Members built a tabernacle by 1920 and in 1956 converted it to an education building. The church added more buildings to its campus through the years, including a parsonage in 1947 and a multipurpose fellowship hall in 2005. School Creek Baptist Church has a history of ministry to children through its involvement in orphan homes, Sunday schools and Vacation Bible Schools. Historically, the church has supported mission work with such activities as organizing outreach programs and sponsoring youth mission trips. Members of the church have become licensed and ordained ministers, with many entering full-time mission work. Over a century after its founding, the church continues to provide a positive influence on lives in the Central Texas area and beyond. (2006)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hancock Springs Park — 12 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 — 25 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.

More markers nearby

• Birthplace of Stanley Walker — 3.4 mi
• Townsen's Mill — 5.3 mi
• Adamsville — 6.4 mi
• United Presbyterian Church of Adamsville — 6.4 mi