FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
301 North Madison Avenue
Mt. Pleasant, Texas 75455
Elam Riddle donated a lot on the corner of Third and Jefferson shortly after the Civil War and before First Baptist was established. The lot was donated to the Methodists for a church building with the provision that any denomination could use the building. A wooden building was erected and used jointly by the Methodists and Baptists on alternate Sundays until 1890. Methodist literature was used during this period for Sunday School, which was held every Sunday. F. W. Fitzpatrick was Sunday School superintendent and his daughter Mame (later to be Mrs. Mame Swint) was the organist.
No records are available that state the date that First Baptist Church was founded.
The oldest printed record available is a copy of the third annual session minutes of the Pittsburg Association held in the First Baptist Church of Mount Pleasant on September 15-17, 1882. The church had 24 members then.
B. C. Pierce stated in his thesis there were three Baptist churches in Titus County in 1857 and old-timers claim that the First Baptist Church was one of the three. Deacon B. B. Hammonds is recorded to have stated in 1937 that he united with the First Baptist Mt. Pleasant in 1869.
Through the years the church has been a member of the following associations:
Hopewell Association 1882-1908
Judson Missionary Baptist Association 1908(Dissolved)
Rehobeth Association 1909-1912
Pittsburg Association 1912
Harmony-Pittsburg Association Present
The First Baptist, Mt. Pleasant's first building was located on the site of the present Education building on the northwest corner of Third and Madison Streets on a lot donated by W. A. Dillard in 1890.
The Ladies Aid Society was re-organized in December of 1902, and the Rev. N. A. Seale assisted in the writing of the by-laws. (There had been an organization of this kind earlier but no record of its work is available.) Members are Mesdames W. T. Black, W. J. Ellis, R. M. Fuller, W. A. Johnson, S. H. Hill, T. C. Morris, S. P. Pounders, S. H. Roper, J. B. Rowland, N. A. Seale, Mary Smith, D. G. Williams and Miss Mabel Williams. Associate member was Mrs. I. N. Williams.
The women served lunch to the local men's clubs weekly to help raise funds for carrying on the work of the church during the depression.
In 1931 the name was changed to Woman's Missionary Union with the following officers: President, Mrs. Mary Fitzpatrick Smith; Vice-President, Mrs. S. P. Pounders; Secretary, Mrs. T. C. Morris; and Treasurer, Mrs. W. A. Johnson. In 1937 there were nine circles which met each Monday at 3:00 P.M.
In 1969 the name was changed to Baptist Women and the organization was updated by the Southern Baptist Convention.
The church had several part-time pastors including the Rev. R. W. Priest, Rev. Isaac Rogers Riddle, Rev. Bob Jenkins and the Rev. N. G. Bentley.
Following is a list of the full-time pastors and the period served:
Rev. N. A. Seale ................1904-1906
Rev. J. T. Gillespie ............1906-1906
Rev. John Holland. ..............1907-1911
Rev. W. D. Hathorn ..............1912-1921
Rev. F. L. Hall. ................1921-1922
Rev. Ross Smith. ................1922-1922
Rev. A. W. Reaves. ..............1922-1923
Rev. J. D. Fuller. ..............1924-1927
Rev. J. N. Vandiver. ............1927-1936
Rev. L. E. Lamb. ................1936-1943
Rev. 0. J. Chastain. ............1943-1949
Rev. L. L. Morriss ..............1949-1954
Rev. J. 0. Morman. ..............1954-1958
Rev. Harvey D. Lewis ............1958-1963
Rev. Ernest R. Wells ............1964-1966
Rev. George H. Harris. ..........1966-1970
Rev. Billy Hudnall ..............1970-
The Rev. John Holland lived in the first parsonage which was built in 1907. The first wedding performed in the new parsonage was that of Norma Fuller and John Martin.
In 1937 a six room brick parsonage was built. Its first residents were the Rev. L. E. Lamb family. In 1963 a new brick parsonage was built on Redbud Street. The first family to live in it was the Rev. Ernie Wells.
In 1917 the membership voted to build a brick edifice on the lot at Third and Madison. Plans called for a $20,000 building. After approximately $18,000 was spent and capital was exhausted, a committee of L. B. Roach, H. A. Willson, and Lester Black was appointed to borrow "not less than $10,000 nor more than $20,000" to complete the structure. A loan was obtained from the Southern Baptist Convention and later transferred to an insurance company. The building was completed in latter 1920 and the interior was finished in 1922.
In 1939 the church approved a recommendation that Deacons be elected to active service for a period of three years; one-third to retire each year and not be eligible for re-election to active service for a period of one year.
The Ellis Education Building, made possible by John J. Ellis, was completed in 1939. The sale of lots donated to the church by Mr. Ellis provided the money for this project. When Mr. John J. Ellis died in 1940, his will provided that a trust fund of $1,000 be established and administered by the First Baptist Church. Interest from such trust fund would be used to buy Christmas presents for needy children. This fund has since increased substantially.
Mrs. W. S. Swint served as an unpaid choir director for many years prior to the employment of a full-time Music Director. Mr. Carl Mauzey was employed as combination Music and Educational Director at a salary of $150 per month in 1940.
Two missions were established by the First Baptist Church in 1947. Tenth Street Baptist Church was organized on April 20, 1947, with a membership of 6l. The Rev. H. T. Maxberry served as its pastor from 1947 until December 1950. The parsonage, built on a lot donated by W. M. Driggers, was completed on March 19, 1951. In June 1951, the name of the church was changed to Highland Park Baptist Church. The church voted a $50,000 building program in June 1956 and the new church and educational building were dedicated June 6, 1957. The Highland Park Baptist Church Brotherhood organized the Sunset Baptist Mission for Negroes in 1951. Present membership of Highland Park Baptist Church is 347 resident and 100 non-resident members.
The second mission was organized September 7, 1947, with 30 charter members. This mission is now known as Dellwood Baptist Church. The Rev. H. S. Morris served as pastor until March 15, 1950. Later an $8,000 parsonage was purchased and $10,000 worth of improvements were made to the church building which included the remodeling and enlargement of the auditorium. Later improvements included installation of air conditioning. In 1970 a new parsonage was purchased on Gene Drive. Present church membership is 284.
The second educational building (where the present fellowship hall is located) was completed in 1951.
Shortly thereafter the present auditorium was built. It was dedicated on Sunday, August 9th, 1953.
In 1961, work was begun on the new $300,000 education unit. The old auditorium at the corner of Third and Madison was torn down and the new 25,500 square foot building was erected there. Dedicated on August 19, 1962, it includes nurseries, Sunday school rooms, offices, and the Chapel. The Caldwell and Clayton houses which had been used for Sunday School rooms, were sold and moved upon completion of the educational building. A large parking lot was made available on the west side of the church property. Also at this time the fellowship hall and the Ellis building underwent repair and remodeling. A roof was constructed over the alley between the two buildings. This is the present hall running from the sanctuary to the education building.
Mrs. Bedie Lilienstern donated the church chimes.
In 1963 a new brick parsonage was built on Redbud Street.
Various records of the church are as follows:
1882 ............ 24 membership
1910 ........... 210 membership
1937 ........... 700 membership; 300 Sunday School
1947 ......... 1,097 membership
1950 ......... 1,229 membership; 910 Sunday School
1957 ......... 1,326 membership; 1,290 Sunday School
1970 ......... 1,878 membership; 1,131 Sunday School
Budgets -
1939-40 .......... 9,600
1940-41 ......... 10,635
1941-42 ......... 10,971
1946-47 ......... 26,050
1950-51 ......... 46,485
1969-70 ........ 173,814
The sanctuary was renovated in 1991 with a total cosmetic make over which included the addition of stained glass, and conversion to a center aisle format.
Actual plans began years before with Long Range Planning talking of the idea in 1982. The First Baptist Church Christian Life Center (CLC) was built and dedicated on October 13, 1991. It is a multifunction building housing a gymnasium, weight room, racquetball court, game room, craft room, kitchen facilities, a banquet room and numerous meeting rooms. Outside facilities include playground equipment and a patio to accommodate cookouts. This building is used for activities such as city wide church basketball league, Royal Ambassador meetings, parties, exercise classes, fellowships, an annual Harvest Banquet, a Hispanic Boy's Club that meets weekly, Seniors walking facility, and Youth Sunday School.
First Baptist Church provided this history article to The Titus County, Texas History Website on April 5, 2007. It has apparently not been updated since 1991.
