Las Sabinas, Volume 35, Number 4, 2009 Page: 5
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Las Sabinas History Journal and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Orange County Historical Society.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Bethlehem Baptist Association received the young church into membership that
same year. Thus it became a member of a young association, established in 1852, and
also a member of the nine-year-old Texas Baptist State Convention and the twelve-year-
old Southern Baptist Convention. David Forman (or Foreman) promised to preach for
several months and is listed as pastor the next year. It is not known just how long he
served as pastor.
The church is referred to by many different names through the years without any
explanation of the changes to be found in the records. The account of the organization as
written in 1912 calls the church, "The First Orange Missionary Baptist Church."(6)
Minutes intermittently refer to it as "The First Orange Missionary Baptist Church, First
Baptist Church of Orange, First Baptist Church, and Old First Orange Baptist Church"
The church has had several locations. It was organized in a little schoolhouse that
stood near the site of the "Orange municipal airport,"(7) that once was a private airport
located at 37" Street and South Street. A hurricane in 1865 blew the building away.
Next a building was erected on what was known as "Aunt Jennie Jett Island."(8) F.A.
Burton was pastor at the time. An "island of sweet gum trees," this location was near
where Highway 90 crosses the railroad near the Cloeren Company and near J.B.'s
Barbeque. Later the building was torn down and rebuilt at the present site (on the south
side of Interstate 10, approximately one-fourth mile west of Highway 62), probably in the
spring of 1892 after Joshua Cole deeded one acre of land to the church.(9) Mrs. Sarah
Winfree Finch is also reported to have donated land.
Deeds show the acquisition of land added to the original acre. Two acres were
conveyed to the church by Frank Brown in April, 1905,(10) .257 acres were deeded to
Old First Orange Baptist Church by Mrs. Denease Peveto on February 4, 1959,(11) .5
acres was purchased from the Sabine River Authority on January 22, 1964.(12) Newman
and Dolly Harmon deeded two tracts of land to the church, one on January 22, 1964(13)
and another in 1974.(14)
In 1976, the church purchased a small tract from Sabine River Authority (15)
including an old rice canal which was then filled in to make room for the present
sanctuary. 13.5 acres were purchased from the Newman Harmons in 1977,(16) bringing
the present acreage to eighteen acres.
F. A. Burton was a member from the church's inception until his death in 1925,
for a total of 68 years. Several times during those years, he served as pastor. Records
show him as pastor from 1869-1871 and again from 1880-1887. He likely served at other
times also. He served many churches in the area, but always retained his membership at
Old First Orange Baptist Church. In an interview published in the Beaumont Enterprise
in 1915, F.A. Burton described how he, along with other men in the church, joined the
ranks of the Confederate Army.(l17) The end of the Civil War in February 1865 left the
membership of the church sadly depleted.5
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View seven pages within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Orange County Historical Society (Tex.). Las Sabinas, Volume 35, Number 4, 2009, periodical, 2009; Orange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth312948/m1/11/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Orange County Historical Society.