The First Baptist Church of Bastrop
1909 – 2000
The conference minutes of the First Baptist Church before 1911 have been lost. The first
minutes in existing files are those of March 12, 1911. At that meeting the Reverend T.I. Barker was the
moderator and Hartford Jenkins the clerk. In January, 1912, the Reverend Barker became the first half-time
pastor the church had ever had.
In 1922, Mrs. S.J. Orgain purchased the home of Mr. and Mrs. August Elzner at 1701 Main
Street and gave it to the church to be used as the parsonage. The Reverend W.J. Earls was the first
pastor to occupy the residence in this capacity.
On May 6, 1923, the church body voted to withdraw from the Austin Baptist Association
and join the newly formed Bastrop County Baptist Association; however, the latter was disbanded and the
Bastrop church re-united with the Austin Baptist Association in 1927. Except for the years between 1966
and 1982, during which First Baptist was a member of the Gonzales Baptist Association, it has remained
with the Austin Baptist Association.
In 1929, Mr. and Mrs. Hartford Jenkins donated a lot on the corner of Water and Farm
streets as a site for a new church building. The building on Pecan Street was razed and the lumber used
in constructing the new building. The Mexican Baptist Church joined with the members of the First Baptist
and donated much in the way of labor in completing the new church.
This building served the congregation well for a number of years, even when the advent
of the United States into the World War II and the subsequent construction of Camp Swift near Bastrop
brought a great many people into the Bastrop Area and increased the membership enrollment of the church.
The Reverend Bonnie Grimes, who was pastor of the church at this time, passed away very
suddenly on the morning of Palm Sunday, 1943, and was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Bastrop. During an
interim of five months while a new pastor was being sought, a chaplain at Camp Swift, Colonel Hilliard,
was supply pastor.
The Reverend John Allen became minister of the church in October, 1943. The following
year, the note on the church building was paid off, and the Reverend J.W. Milton was invited back to
conduct the services at which time the note was burned.
This building did not have a cornerstone at the time of its completion in 1930. In 1959,
the S.L. Brannon family presented the church with a cornerstone inscribed with the names of the three
men who had served on the building committee when the church was built; S.L. Brannon, Hartford Jenkins,
and Leslie D. Williams. Each of these men spoke briefly during the service. Judge Williams, in closing
his speech said, "I want to needle you a bit. Your present building is inadequate for your Sunday School.
An educational building is long overdue."
This fact had been apparent to church members for some time. In June, 1955, the deacon
body had recommended that plans and estimates for building an educational annex be explored. In October,
1955, the P.J. Dodson family had donated 2000 square feet of land to the church to increase the size of
the church lot on its north side for the purpose of building an annex to the church building there.
A building fund was started in 1956. The church was incorporated, receiving its charter
in 1957. But it was not until 1960 that the building actually got underway. The annex was completed in
1961, while the Reverend Robert L. Elliott was pastor. The Reverend O. W. Summerlin, under whose
leadership the plans had been started, preached the dedicatory sermon.
Other needs were coming to the attention of the church members. The parsonage needed
repairs and so did the church building. The latter also needed more space and the installation of air
conditioning. The idea now emerged that both the church building and the parsonage might be remodeled
to satisfy such needs. An architect was employed to draw up preliminary plans for both projects. These
plans when presented to the church body, were well liked but thought by many members to be beyond the
financial means of the church, so no action was taken.
In 1967, in two separate transactions, the church acquired the corner lot at Pecan and
Farm streets, and also the lot adjacent to this property, at the corner of Water and Farm Streets. These
purchases gave the church the entire block opposite the church building on Farm Street. Half of this
area was later paved and lined off for parking.
In May of the following year, the church voted to list the parsonage for sale and buy a
new one. In June, 1968, the old parsonage was sold and the Wilkins' home at 1404 Main Street was bought
as the pastor's residency. The Reverend Charles Young, who began his ministry at First Baptist in July
of that year, was the first pastor to occupy the new parsonage.
With the population of Bastrop still growing and the church membership increasing
rapidly, it was more than ever apparent that something needed to be done to enlarge the facilities of
the church. There were various opinions as to how it should be done, but at the business meeting in June,
1969, the building committee recommended that the old church building be torn down and a new building be
erected at the same site. On September 3, 1969, tentative plans submitted by architect Adam Bliss were
accepted, and the church made the final decision to go ahead with the building. The new plans provided
for the construction of a new sanctuary, fellowship hall, kitchen, church parlor, classrooms, and an
office, along with the renovation of the existing educational building.
The old building was razed, and on March 21, 1971, a groundbreaking ceremony was held
for the new structure. A six-month construction period followed, during which services were conducted in
the building, which belonged to the First Christian Church of Bastrop, on Church Street.
Services were held in the new building for the first time on Sunday, October 10, 1971.
Public dedication services were held the last Sunday of that month, with the Reverend Young presiding.
In 1973, the P.J. Dodson property, which was adjacent to the north side of the church
lot, was acquired, and on September 8, 1976, the church bought the Fournier property adjoining the
Dodson lot. The house on the Dodson property was sold and moved away, and its lot incorporated into new
plans, which were in the making at this time.
The plans were culminated on May 4, 1977, when the church voted to accept the Building
Committee's recommendation that contracts be granted to build a new addition on the north side of the
church building. On May 19, 1977, a dual celebration was held, in which the note on the church building
was burned and ground was broken for the new wing.
By February, 1980, the debt on the parsonage had been cleared and plans were under way
to remodel and enlarge the parsonage. In July, 1981, the church voted to remodel the Fournier home, also.
This house, when completed became the staff house. It was first occupied by the family of Lowery R.
Davis, who came to First Baptist Church in May, 1981, to serve as its first full-time Director of Music,
Youth and Education.
The Reverend Charles Young resigned in December, 1981, and the Reverend John Glasgow
became pastor of the First Baptist in May, 1982. Harold Owens was Director of Music from 1984 until
1985. After the resignation of Reverend Glasgow in 1984, Dr. David Kimberly began his ministry with
First Baptist. Dr. Kimberly was assisted by Gary hall who became Director of Music and Education in
January, 1986, a position he filled until February, 1990. In October, 1990, Bill Bullock became our
Minister of Music and Education. In June 1993, he was ordained by the church as Associate Pastor for
Education and Music, a position he holds to this present day.
The reverend Mike Wiechmann was pastor from December, 1993, until October, 1996. In
December 1996, Dr. Raymond Edge became interim pastor and one year later in December 1997, he began his
ministry as full-time pastor with First Baptist, which continues to the present day.
In January, 1986, the church voted to offer pre-school care for children of church
families and others in the community. The Ark, as the day care ministry was known, offered Kindergarten
classes, as well as care for younger children. Classrooms in the church were used for this service, and
the lot at the corner of Farm and Water Streets was fenced in and equipped to make a playground for the
children. In December, 1996, the Ark closed its doors.
