From the very beginning Texas was founded on faith. This is a collection of historical stories and photos of the role the Church in Texas has always played in our history.. From pistol packing circuit riders to Churches that were the basis of founding individual counties and the state of Texas.

Scroll though this page: Tap on photos for full image and tap on books to see Amazon's description

Very nice photo of the Methodist Church in Junction Texas in 1953

While serving as the Chaplain for the Gatesville School School for Boys, Vergil Lemons also traveled to provide revival services outside the school. Here's a poster on one he did in 1933

Very nice photo of the Presbyterian Church in Merkel Texas in 1910

In 1935 one hundred and twenty five members of the Hog Jaw Primitive Baptist Church gathered for this photo. You may find your parents, grandparents or even yourself in this group.

In 1925 a photographer captured this huge photo of the Presbyterian Church in Plainview Texas and inadvertently caught a man stumbling on the stairs about to take a bad fall

In 1916 a large crowd gathered near Fluvanna Texas for an outdoor Baptism. Anyone know what the two men standing knee-deep in the water are holding?

In the late 1880s after a rain near Plainview Texas created a natural Baptism trough,  wagons lined up and pioneers clamored to take advantage of the opportunity and witness the event ...

With their distinctive head coverings, plain dress, and quiet, unassuming demeanor, the Mennonites are a distinctive presence within the often flamboyant and proud people of Texas

"Two hundred miles north of his former home in Littlefield, he settled on a farm in Coldwater, Texas where he served as minister for a Mennonite Brethren Church... Just up the road from Coldwater, another Mennonite community is known to have existed around the same time near Texline, also in Dallam County . . . " Read more Look inside

"Back in 1921, in Big Lake, Texas, two Catholic nuns invested in an oil well. This was allowed by their priest on one condition. He told them to baptize a rose, and sprinkle the petals in the oil well, and pray every day to Saint Rita for luck---to achieve the impossible and strike oil. During the down time from drilling, the workers built a baseball field near the rig. After seventeen months of digging and drilling..." Read more Look inside . . . for more like this see Texas Football Stories - County by County

The A. R. Michaels family at the original Paris Cox Farmstead in Estacado Texas

These young men  from the Gatesville School for Boys (reform school) were all dressed up in their finest suits to attend chapel in 1936. For many of them the suits were probably the only ones they had ever owned and probably made at the school's Tailor Shop. . . . tap to see photo full size and read more

 "After two years of wandering around from parish to parish, he was called by the Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Estacado, Texas. Because Dad had been a supply priest, he was used to traveling by horse, so he rode into Estacado, arriving the day before he was expected. Part of the "package" offered by the church was the rectory, a two-story, three-bedroom house that was next to the church...Read more Look inside

"News of the miracles spread far and wide and the Church eventually appointed a committee to study all of the related events at Saint John Neumann Church. But although the story of Lubbock continues to this day, the account of Theresa Werner and her experience with God the Father is confined to a series of prophecies she reportedly received from May 16, 1988 through August 8, 1988.  The third child of Peter and Earlene Steiert, Theresa Marie Werner was born on January 11, 1955, in Plainview, Texas She grew up on a 200- acre cotton and corn farm in Hart, Texas, along with her older brother Jim and younger brother Pat . Her fondest memories include horseback and tractor riding and indulging in her favorite hobby , painting..."  Read more Look inside for more like this please see Church in Texas 

Lee Brock was born in Lamesa, Texas, in October 1923. His parents were cotton farmers on the plains of Texas where he learned about hard work, wind, windmills, horses, cattle and the beauty of nature. He graduated High School in Hermleigh, Texas. In school he learned to express his thoughts about his life in poems. He was saved, baptized, and called to preach in a revival at Seminole, Texas, in 1938 . . . Read more Look inside

Quiet day in Lockney Texas at the Methodist Church in 1913

20 years ago a revival movement beginning in Brownwood, Texas, and the Coggin Avenue Baptist Church spread to Howard Payne University and soon to over 100 campuses and many churches nationally. Revival Revived updates the movement with stories of those who were involved now 20 years later . . . Read more Look inside

Rev. Dr. W. B. Bloys, a Presbyterian home missionary, arrived in Fort Davis in 1888 and made his rounds to cow camps and ranch homes. The Bloys Camp Meeting, the original Cowboy Camp Meeting was first held October 10, 1890 when a small group of cowboys and ranch families met . . . continue reading

Hit by a car as a toddler, Saul struggled to walk and lived with pain most of his life. At the time, his family lived in Mexico but when an opportunity arose to come to the U.S. for a better life, they took it. Saul struggled to cope with a new language and new culture on top of his physical issues. He was afraid to hope that his life would ever be normal, but with the love of family, friends and his new community of Gruver, Texas miracles suddenly seemed normal . . . Read more

Somewhere outside Borger near Philips Texas there was a Big Tent Christian Church Revival in 1932. This huge image of an old-time Christian Revival was contributed by Hal DeVaney shows his mother and father in the center front row . . . see it full size

On Easter Sunday in Brownfield Texas men, women and children of the Assembly of God Church posed for this wonderful old photo contributed by Robert Carouth

"By late afternoon on Thursday, April 3, 2008 a short string of dusty government sedans was driving north on U.S. 277 just outside of Eldorado, population 1951, the only town in Schleicher County, Texas. After less than a mile, they peeled onto a chip seal track called County Road 300. The cars were carrying Brooks Long and three other Texas Rangers, County Sheriff David Doran and two of his deputies, and nearly a dozen . . . " Read more Look inside

At the first gathering of the formation of the Primitive Baptist Church in West Texas preachers from Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana and elsewhere gathered at the Miles Turner Hutcherson ranch in Hall County in 1900.

Traveling Preacher Julian Carney and wife pose beside Gospel Car Number 1 in Brownfield Texas in late 1920's . . . take a closer look

Some time in the 1930s the Reverend R. W. Moore posed with his horse and a post-hole digging shovel for this huge highly detailed photograph

by Shirley Mitchell Williams

Shirley Williams is married to Mark Williams; together, they pastor Grace Christian Fellowship in Alpine, Texas. She has worn many hats over the years, including EMS director, judge, IRS Enrolled Agent, business owner, coroner, evangelist, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. This is a true account of a medically documented healing miracle of a woman diagnosed with Stage IV (end stage) breast cancer that had metastasized into her bones, organs and lymph nodes. Given anywhere from three weeks to ninety days to live, through her faith, she was able to find healing without chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Years later, Shirley is still living free from all cancer and is totally restored . . . Read more

In 1921 Virgil Lemons, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Lockney officiated at  Baptism of  Germany Ferguson somewhere in Floyd County. Germany stood 6'9 and Pastor Lemons was 5'5 so this is no optical illusion. Many thanks to Brent Lemons for providing this photo of his grandfather performing a baptism.

Sometime in the 1870s a circuit riding preacher named Sinclair posed for this rare photo with his horse team that carried him on a 250 mile circle across the windswept Texas Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico preaching, providing baptisms, weddings and funerals for pioneers in the area. Mr. Sinclair died in 1900

In the early 1900s a crowd gathered around an earthen stock tank near Petersburg Texas to witness Robert Hall being baptized by a Church of Christ minister . . See full size image

Beautiful old photo of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Childress Texas in 1908

"A writer once denounced the Lone Star State as "where the Godly could battle 'the devil' on his own ground." Circuit riders and other early preachers confronted dangerous outlaws, Indians, wild animals, and Texas' unpredictable weather. Their stories chronicle bringing one element of civilization to early explorers and settlers. Some fought for Texas independence with a Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other; others worked as drovers and preached along the cattle trails. ...." Read more Look inside

Panhandle Residents Ponder Polygamist’s Move

Residents and officials of the small Texas community of Lockney are concerned about the declining population experienced since the 1980 but even more concerned about the impact polygamist Samuel Fischer’s family will have on their community . . . Read more about their reaction

"A new kind of book based on historical research, which tells a previously untold story set in the 1800s of the relationship between an African-American missionary and one of the greatest preachers to ever live. Johnson, an American slave, born into captivity and longing for freedom--- Spurgeon, an Englishman born into relative ease and comfort, but, longing too for a freedom of his own. Their respective journeys led to an unlikely meeting and an even more unlikely friendship..." The authors thank Gary Schwarz for providing beautiful, open spaces for us to dream and write; and Matt Kirk, Randy Leifeste, and the amazing people of the Castell General Store in Castell, Texas, for keeping us fed during the long weekends of writing . . . Read more Look inside

The Influence of First Baptist Church on Abilene, Texas

 In 1881, six months after the establishment of Abilene, Texas, seventeen residents met at the local public school building and chartered First Baptist Church of Abilene. These founders instilled a mission-minded focus in the new institution. While First Baptist was not the only institution that served Abilene, the church’s importance cannot be overlooked. For over 125 years, First Baptist Church of Abilene has played a prominent role in the Abilene community . . . Read more

Vehicles line the street at the First Baptist Church in Stephenville while parishioners visit on church lawn in 1930.

From his early years in the cotton patches of West Texas to a battleship in the Pacific Theatre, Leland Hamilton's lucid storytelling offers amazing insight into these seminal moments in the nations history. Praise the Lord! is Leland Hamilton’s first book. At ninety years old, Hamilton continues to be an active member of his church, participates in Kairos Prison Ministry, and is the “official number-one fan” of the Andrews High School Mustangs. In 2015, he and his wife, Joyce, were named the recipients of the Pioneer Award, the highest honor given to citizens of Andrews, Texas. . . . Read more Look inside

by Kelley Litsch

"This book gives great examples of faith, constant prayer, leadership, and tenacity. Mainly it tells the story of what God can do with a willing believer using that person's personality. Kelley Litsch was raised on a farm near Lockney, Texas . . . " Read more

Roy Ratcliff

Roy Ratcliff was born in Matador, Texas in 1948. He is a minister and author best known for ministering to serial killer Jeffery Dahmer in prison . . . more about Ratcliff

"My father had set up a service for me with a pastor he knew in Seymour, Texas. I brought more people with me than the little church could muster for themselves. Four school friends went along to provide music. Mom went to drive the car . . . " Read more Look inside

Lockney Christian College was established by Charles Walker Smith and St. Clair W. Smith, two evangelists of the Church of Christ. The first school year began on October 2, 1894, in a frame building, with Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Burleson as the first teachers. The school opened with sixteen students and had fifty students by the end of the year . . .

It’s a walk of faith--and it also involves a “faith of inconvenience”...Join Coy Reece Holley as he takes you through a "walking tour" of his life in this unique "memoir with a twist"

Lockney - Where for me it it all began. Being Raised as a "Black Sheep"

Lockney Main Street - How I began to Listen to Mr. Armstrong

Lockney High School - The Long Wait until Graduation

Lockney West Locust Street - Going Back to Siberia - My Siberian Exile / Great Tribulation Period

. . . Look inside and Read more

Samuel Nathaniel Morris was born March 6, 1900 in Paducah, Texas. His father had left his mother with two small children two months before Sam was born. Sam's mother went to live with her parents on their farm in Cottle County. . . more about Sam

"In 1940, the Howells moved to Kress, Texas where he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church for six and a half years. Clarence and Leta both taught school and he served as principal of the Kress High School..." Read more

Born in San Angelo Texas January 11, 1955. Max grew up in Andrews. A graduate of Abilene Christian University, he is a best-selling author, TV personality and retired pastor at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas.

Staff and students appear in this photo of Wayland Baptist College in September 1910. Boys on the right dressed in black and girls on the left dressed in white.
 ... zoom in

"... to pay for all we have been through since being assigned to this country in 1874. These hostages include Leonard J. Childress, mayor of Sanderson, Texas; Leviticus Hendry, state representative and barber from Presidio, Texas; Father Miguel de la Vega, priest at the Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Presidio; Linda Kincaid, whore from Terlingua, Texas; Nelson J. Bookbinder ..." Read more Look inside

Baptismal in Playa Lake in Terry County Texas in 1918

. . . See full size

by John Avant

"Who has ever heard of Brownwood, Texas? God has! He is the God of passion who just may step into the next moment of your life and change the ordinary into the extraordinary. Are you ready? It was January 22, 1995. I was the pastor of Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood, Texas. Things had not been going well. In fact, I wondered whether I was even in the right place " . . . Read more Look inside

James C. Gibson is a partially retired bi-vocational Christian minister living in Bangs, Texas. Honesty With God is the fruit of an experiment discovered while attempting to establish a new church. In 1968 a small group of adventurers wanted to form a church that would rightly demonstrate God to the world  . . . Read more Look inside

The retreat , sponsored by the National Council of Churches Youth Department and the United Christian Youth Movement , was at a camp in Lake Brownwood, Texas. I decided I'd go and use the trip to visit Bob Hilliard , a Howard friend who . . . Read more

This photo, taken in 1904, shows the Sherman County Courthouse when Coldwater was the County seat. Completed in August of 1890, it was built of rock and was 22' x 33'. The builder, J.M. Turner, is at the far right in this picture. After the county seat was moved to Stratford in1901 the Coldwater courthouse was used by the Baptist Church .

Found Inside: "In 1899 the Reverend G. E. Morrison was the pastor of a church in the little village of Panhandle, Texas . His wife, who had been in good health, suddenly got sick and died . Shortly before her death she had complained of stomach cramps, but the cause of death was unknown. The congregation extended its sympathy to the pastor. Still the preacher's actions just before, and just after her death seemed too strange to some of his wife's close friend ... " Read more Look inside

While the tragedy of World War II played itself out in the cities and across the countryside of Europe, a different drama took place in the Texas Panhandle, where three thousand Italian prisoners of war were interned in a camp at Hereford. "The information exchange and visits between the Italians and the people of Hereford and adjacent Castro County have continued in the years since. Clara Vick of nearby Dimmitt has attended all the Italian reunion but one since 1988. Small parties of Italians visit . . . Read more Look inside

In 1914 a large group of worshipers showed up at Carr's Chapel a small country church in the Allmon community in Floyd County Texas located on FM378 10 miles northeast of Petersburg, 14 miles southwest of Floydada . . . See it full size

In Summerfield, Texas, the Baptist Church used Italian POWs on loan from a farmer for a basement and roofing project. A guard also recalled that, while he helped escort the Italian prisoners on the eight-mile hike from Summerfield to Camp Hereford, his detail was thankful that the POWs sand and seemed in good spirits as they walked along, ran than attempting to escape, because the guards did not have bullets for their guns owing to an army error when ordering supplies ... Read more Look inside

Betty Jo Crisler Carr was born September 29, 1926. After finishing high school at the age of sixteen, Crisler traveled alone from California to Lubbock, Texas to attend college. She was a preacher, a teacher, an author, a missionary, a mother of five, and a leader of the Girl Scouts of the USA. she was the first woman appointed superintendent in the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church . . . more about Carr

During World War II these Italian prisoners of war had been helping the Catholic church in Umbarger Texas with murals and other works of art when they posed with the staff for this remarkable photo

by Treeca Yarbrough

"One time when they were pastoring a church, in Whiteface, Texas, the weather was real hot. They didn't have any air conditioning. The other kids were in school. They weren't anywhere around Oleta. She decided that while she was cooking..." Read more Look inside

"Their Daddy arrived two weeks later, and he and Mrs. Wilson found a house to rent on Concho Street in Coleman, Texas. The Caseys lived nineteen miles down the road and Abilene was forty-eight miles. It was an ideal situation. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were charter members of the Trinity Methodist Church, so the children had a Sunday school to attend, and church was part and parcel of their social life. Gail had received a toy piano with several octaves for Christmas when she was three. She played it well, and since there was no dance in Coleman, she was allowed to take piano lessons..." Read more Look inside  . . . for more like this please see Christmas in Texas

Interned in a camp at Hereford in the Texas panhandle, more than 3,000 Italian POWs spent the last years of World War II an ocean away from their family and friends. In the last year of the war, the prisoners suffered a siege of hunger dictated by government-ordered cutbacks in rations. The men called this episode la fame and found it difficult to supplement their meager meals. A handful of men in camp were artists, and it was this small group of prisoners who struck a deal with the priest of a nearby Catholic church. In exchange for a home-cooked meal each noon, the artists agreed to decorate the plain church with murals and carvings . . . Read More

by Laura V. Hamner

"The marriage was set for December 23, 1891. The ceremony was to be held at eight o'clock in evening at the little school-house-church at Afton. Will borrowed a buggy for the occasion. As the bride and groom drove toward the church, they met the man who was" . . . 

A History of African American Churches of Christ in the Lone Star State, 1865-2000

“I was called to Dickens, Texas by the white church there to conduct a meeting for my people at Croton.” The meeting continued for ten nights and nine were baptized." Jim Crow practice, of course, mandated the maintaining of" . . .  Read more Look inside

Matthew 'Bones' Hooks was a true pioneer who not only built a town, schools, and churches, but also broke down racial barriers as one of the first black cowboys to work alongside whites as a ranch hand. Found inside: "Clarendon claimed the oldest one in the Panhandle, as the one in Mobeetie was all but gone due in a great part to the closing of Fort Elliott in 1890. Memphis had started a black community in 1922, about ten years after . . .  " Read more

That same little church house now ornaments the thriving little city of Clarendon, county seat of Donley County. The old inhabitants point to it with pride when telling of how it once stood solitary and alone out on the great buffalo range two ... " Read more Look inside

These short stories of love, faith, and belief in Our Savior Jesus Christ are written for all Christians. Neal, once a month, provides a story to the congregation of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Clarendon, Texas. In Turkey, Texas, his stories have been shared in monthly Bible study groups consisting of many faiths, including Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ. Neal shares his readings not only in these churches ... Read more Look inside

by Paul Howie

In this new century, with so many people living in the city far from the food source, it seems that only God and another cowboy could truly understand who we are as keepers of the land and critters. Like the cows need grass and water, we too, are in need of nourishment. Pastor Paul Howie and Cathi Ball lead us directly to the feed trough with this collection of inspirational shorts perfectly suited for truth-hungry cowgirls and cowboys. Paul Howie lives in Eastland, Texas with his wife and has three children and grandson. "Pastor Paul" as he is known around the county, is pastor of the Leon River Cowboy Church in Eastland . . . Read more Look inside

A compilation of information on Adventists establishing the Church in these areas ... Conference Heritage Series) (Volume 2) This second volume of the Texico Conference Heritage Series is a continuation of the courage, dedication, and sacrifices made by the early SDA workers who brought the Texico Conference into existence. They provided the foundation for where it is today - from small informal groups to the growth of churches and schools with buildings. Reliance on railroad travel is still primary, but the automobile is just  . . . Read more

The Amazing Story of God's Work among the Poor of El Paso-Juarez

 The First Fifty Years

A free verse description of life as it was in a farm family in Erath County, Texas, in the 1920s and 1930s, the way of life of devout Christians of the Church of Christ.

by Charles Stahl

Bubba Stahl was a cowboy from a very young age, complete with hat, boots, toy guns, stick horses, and red bandana. Bubba was also a Christian at an early age.

"I met Derrell Monday soon after becoming the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Rotan, Texas. He was the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Rotan. I was a young pastor just starting out and did not know “sic'em from comeback” about being " . . . Read more Look inside

Faith Child of Promise

"Marvin L. Ward was born in Denver City, Texas on April 12, 1941.He moved around as a boy until coming to Rotan, Texas. There in a small Baptist church he asks Jesus to come into his life at the ripe age of 12 " . . . Read more Look inside

by Do Chong Poep Sa

Do Chong Poep Sa was born Paul W. Lynch, the first son of an American Indian/Irishman from Roby, Texas and an Irish mother born in Dalkey just outside Dublin, Ireland. His religious upbringing was quite eclectic; Paul's father is Southern Baptist and his mother was brought up in the Catholic, Protestant and Episcopal Churches. As a young boy he experimented with many different religions, and had many open discussions about faith with both his parents. Paul's father was an aircraft mechanic . . . Read more Look inside

by Molly Stringer

"My family moved from a farm near the small town of Kress, Texas, to a farm about then miles west of Floydada. About two miles from our new home, there was a wide spot in the road where two farm-to-market roads crossed, called Sandhill. Our family was a church-going people, so on our very first Sunday in our new home, we attended that church. There I met people who would impact my life for as long as I live ... Read more Look inside

Stories of Redemption and the Healing Power of Jesus

by Ricky Carstensen and James E. Doucette

"Ricky Carstensen currently serves as pastor to the First United Methodist Church of Lockney, Texas. In Witnesses to the Crucifixion, Ricky Carstensen retells the death and resurrection of the Messiah through six stand-alone stories that portray perceptions of the key elements physically closest to Jesus during His trial, death, burial, and resurrection: the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the three nails, the spear, the burial shroud, and the stone that covered the entrance to Jesus’ tomb.. . . Read more Look inside.

by Jeff B. Pool

"As charter members of Fairview Baptist Church near Seminole , Texas , they demonstrated the essential importance of genuine Christian community . Through these memories of my maternal grandparents , I also remember that Baptist ..." Read more

by Jeff B. Pool

"On March 9, 1975, I received ordination into a Christian ministry from the church in which I had held a membership as a teenager in Seminole, Texas . . . " Read more Look inside

These short stories of love, faith, and belief in Our Savior Jesus Christ are written for all Christians. Neal, once a month, provides a story to the congregation of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Clarendon, Texas. In Turkey, Texas, his stories have been shared in monthly Bible study groups consisting of many faiths, including Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ. Neal shares his readings not only in these churches ... Read more Look inside

"Later George started an African-American church in Brice and I pastored a Mexican church nearby in Memphis, as well as the anglo congregation in Lesley, Texas . . . Read more Look inside

by Herbert Ward Barker

"I completed all the necessary classes, but left to accept the call to pastor of the Rochester, Texas, Baptist Church before completing all the required reading and the writing of my dissertation, intending to finish it in my spare time on ..." Read more

Raising children is hard, but when tragedy strikes, what was once difficult becomes almost impossible. Breaking Through the Clouds is a story of how one family dealt with unimaginable sorrow by walking in faith. "Taking all my requests to heart, Jordan located a few churches in the nearby town of Ropesville"  . . . Read more Look inside

by Mahesh Chavda and Bonnie Chavda

"Even when I was a pastor in Levelland, Texas, in 1974, around the time Bonnie and I were married, we would watch and pray once a month with others from the church and neighboring areas" . . . Read more Look inside

Covers a complete history of the church from inception to present time. Illustrated with numerous photographs from the past.

Lennox / Church School in Littlefield
"In a small church house or what people would also call a school house, there is to be seen lights turning on and off when it is known that there is no one in the building. Those who have ventured close to the structure report that black shadows have been seen around the building. It has been said if you drive there around midnight you can see both the shadows and the lights being turned on and off..."
 Check it out  . . . for more like this see also Mysterious Texas

The First Baptist Church of Lubbock, Texas: A Centennial History: 1891-1991

Not to write the History of the First Baptist Church of Lubbock would be unthinkable. To see more long-time members disappear from the scene without recording memorable accounts of their lives in the church would be a tragedy. To allow more of our rich heritage to fade into limbo . . . Read more

A history of First Baptist Church of Midland, Texas 1886-1975

by Billy Keith

The first one hundred years, 1867-1967

by Travis Monday

Found inside: "In May of 1986, our family moved from Yuba, Oklahoma, to Colorado City, Texas. And on May 25, 1986, I preached my first message as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. I enjoyed most of my time in Colorado City, but Pam and I both faced times of great difficulty. She began having problems with depression and I experienced more of the symptoms of PTSD. I am grateful to the members of Calvary Baptist Church for supporting us in both the good and the bad times. My PTSD hit me numerous times and in different ways during my 10 1/2 years in Colorado City. For example . . . " Learn more

"Two more Mennonite colonies developed in the upper Panhandle in the 1940s. In 1943 a group established the Perryton Mennonite Church, and still another group settled the Bethel Mennonite Church at Waka, southwest of Perryton . . ." Read more Look inside

"The Santiago church, larger than La Navidad, was located on Alamitos Creek about eight miles below present Presidio, Texas. Fr. Lopez left the area on January I, 1684. The two missionaries abandoned the missions a short time later due to ... " Read more Look inside

"New Spain also made some effort to bring Christianity to the nomadic occupants of West Texas, especially after Jumano Indians pleaded with the church leaders in 1628 to send religious teachers because they had been taught by a mysterious "woman in blue." In 1629 Father Juan de Salas led an expedition that reached the Jumano villages.  By the 1670s some Jumanos had moved to a new mission, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, at the present site of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and to another at Presidio, Texas. And in 1682, after a revolt by Pueblos against the Spanish in New Mexico . . . Read more Look inside

Buddy Helms writes both fiction and non-fiction books about Christianity, faith, love, and relationships. He and his wife, Carla, recently sold the ranch where they lived outside of Big Lake, Texas to make more time for ministry. He served as the Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Big Lake for over twelve years. He is currently the Pastor of Brentwood Family Fellowship in San Angelo, Texas." Mike's New Reality" was his first novel..." Read more Look inside

"My name is Flora Jessop. I've been called apostate, vigilante, and crazy bitch, and maybe I am. But some people call me a hero, and I'd like to think they're right too " . . .

Found inside: "I haven't spoken to my Mom since 2001, and no one will tell me where she is. I filed a missing person's report on her in 2004. I leaned at one point that she had been sent to Warren Jeff's compound outside Eldorado, Texas. She must have been " . . . Read more Look inside

... The church, however, had a way of pulling her back in-and by 2007, Rebecca had no choice but to take the witness stand against the new prophet of the FLDS in order to protect her little sisters and other young girls from being forced to marry at shockingly young ages. The following year, Rebecca and the rest of the world watched as a team of Texas Rangers raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch, a stronghold of the FLDS in Eldorado Texas. Rebecca's subsequent testimony would reveal the horrific secrets taking place behind closed doors of the temple, sending their leaders to prison for years, and Warren Jeffs for life . . . Read more Look inside

Few people realize that polygamy continues to exist in the United States. In late March and early April of 2008, media attention turned to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—the FLDS—in rural Eldorado, Texas, when over 400 children and 129 mothers were removed from their Yearning . . . Read more Look inside

This Institute at Glen Rose, Texas, was Our Church has a great work to do in established in 1888 by Trinity Presbytery to Texas . No other denomination can do our enable young men and women to obtain work... Check it out here

Recounts the author's childhood as an organist's daughter for tent revivalist David Terrell, describing her witness to his mass "miracles" and his morally corrupt activities behind the scenes ... "The Terrellites descended on Bangs Texas like a biblical plague. They came in their broken-down trucks and leaky campers and station wagons that rattle when they rolled. A few drove new cars, all that remained of the middle-class life they had abandoned . . . Read more Look inside

J. Stephen Yuille resides in Glen Rose, Texas, with his wife, Alison, and their daughters, Laura and Emma. He is the Teaching Pastor at Grace Community Church and Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas ... Read more about his book Looking unto Jesus

by Charles Kiker

"A geographical, chronological and spiritual autobiography. The author describes the place of his birth: a farm in semi-arid Swisher County in the Texas Panhandle in depression/Dust Bowl days. He describes his schooling at a two-room rural school through elementary years, and his years at a small town high school. The author reflects upon the richness as well as the poverty of those days. He describes his struggles with his call to ministry as a haunting by the Holy Ghost. The reader is taken on a travelogue of the places in which the author and his wife ministered..." Read more Look inside

by Dr. John R. Rice

Found inside: "At Shamrock, Texas , where I was pastor of the First Baptist Church , Miss Irene Bryan came one day and said , “ Brother Rice, a neighbor girl of mine , very prominent in society and moneyed circles , told me she is so despondent that she is . . . ' Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "I had been called to the First Baptist Church of Shamrock , Texas , my first full - time pastorate . The little church was divided , defeated , worldly . It had been without a pastor for long months . Lightning had struck the church building and burned . . ." Read more

Found Inside: "C . W . Alexander was selected in 1884 by the Home Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church USA to organize a church and Sunday school in Mobeetie , Texas , and to develop other churches in the surrounding areas" . . .  Learn more

by Mel Bond

"While my wife, Donna, and I and our oldest daughter, Cherish, were pastoring a church in Taylor, Texas, I went to bed on the Tuesday evening of November 14, 1978. At some point after going to sleep, I was awakened by an angelic or divine . . ." Read more Look inside

Found inside: "Colonel Mullins, who commanded the regiment, was from Florence, Williamson County. Grandma Berr has belonged to the Baptist Church ever since 1841. The first Missionary Baptist Church in Williamson County was organized in her house by Revs. Garrett and Talafero . . . " Read more Look inside

Found Inside: "... spend the evenings with them, praying as a group. Eight people volunteered to go. At the last moment two of the couples had to cancel, leaving Jered and Kay Sellers from the First Baptist Church of Plains, Texas, my wife, Dr. L. and myself ... Read more Look inside

Men's Sunday School class at the First Baptist Church in Anson Texas in the 1930s

1st Methodist Church in Anson Texas as seen in the 1900s on the dirt street of the north side

In the 1930s thirty-four women, one man and a child posed for this photo of a women's Sunday school class in Anson Texas

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Amazing People from Texas County by County