About

     Having been a member of First Baptist Church since the fall of 1943 when I came as a twenty-year old school teacher, I have an intimate personal knowledge of more than half the life of this wonderful church.  The first half, I have researched by reading minutes of church business meetings and deacons meetings, the annual letters sent to Tryon Evergreen Baptist Association, newspaper accounts, other histories of the church, and interviews with members who had belonged since they were children.

     Very few records were kept in the early days of the church.  We do have the minutes of its organization on November 30, 1891 stating that Brethren G.M. Daniel, George Cook and J.M. Hardy formed a presbytery or official body to officiate in constituting a Missionary Baptist Church.  When they extended an invitation with those of letters of dismissal who wished to be members, two men and five ladies came forward.  Those who did not have letters were then invited to join.  Three more came, and the church was begun with eight members who elected E.B. Trammell as church clerk and Rev. George Cook as pastor.  They pledged to pay Brother Cook $100 a year to be paid monthly.

     March 13, 1893, the church records state that the second pastor George Mayfield Daniel was the moderator and a committee was appointed to build a church.  The third recorded minutes was May 9, 1894, which reveals the church had been built and they made arrangements to pay off the money owed on the building.

     Little is known about the biography of the first pastor.  We know more about the second pastor G.M. Daniel because some of his descendants remained in Montgomery County.

     Much of church history is dominated by its pastors.  The second pastor, George Mayfield Daniel, was born in Georgia and had fought in the Civil War.  Prior to his pastorate, he had built a log house in Willis where he and Sarah Elizabeth Virginia Lowery moved because they wanted their children to be able to get a good education which they themselves had not had.  At the time he became pastor in 1893, he was forty-seven years of age, and had ten children: four girls and six boys ranging in ages from four to twenty-three.  He remained as pastor until 1896.  His son Marion later told about his dad having a circuit ministry, riding a white horse throughout the Evergreen Baptist Association.  Marion traveled with him helping him baptize more than 1200 people and form twelve churches.

     This son Marion became the father of two sons who were governors.  Bill was the governor of the island of Guam, and Price Daniel was a three-term governor of Texas as well as a U.S. Senator.  He was one of Texas' most popular governors.

     Two of Brother Daniel's sons preceded him in death.  Emmett died at age sixteen.  The second son to precede him in death was Carey Daniel who was a missionary to China from 1910-1914.  He had left home on his horse to visit the four churches in China he had formed.  As he was returning home to his bride of four months, who was pregnant with their first child, he ran into a heavy rain, and, trying to cross the river, he was swept off his horse and drowned.  But the legacy of being a minister was continued to the third generation through Carey's son and to the fourth generation through two great grandsons of G.M Daniel, James E. Daniel and Ira Jay Shelton.  In 1981, James E. Daniel worked as a summer intern in First Baptist youth program, was later ordained in this church, and is now pastor at Fairfield Baptist Church, Cypress Texas.  Ira Jay Shelton pastors at Lakewood Baptist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

     When Brother G.M. Daniel died in 1918, he left a watch, two shares in an automobile factory, a house that was paid for, a $50.00 loan yet to be paid by L.H. Eubank, and $500.00.  He asked that after funeral expenses were paid, half of everything he owned be given to his wife and everything else be divided equally among the eight surviving children, with the exception of their home which she was to live in until her death. He asked a son to be sure his mother continued to receive his Confederacy pension.  He added that she deserved it. 

     The last words in Brother Daniel's will were a prayer.  "May the God of all grace keep you all in peace."  His will was dated April 23, 1918, and he died two months later.

     When Reverend George Mayfield Daniel headed the church in 1893 as its first full time pastor, the membership had increased by ten making a total membership of eighteen.  For several years, this group had met with the Methodists in the only church building in town, which was located on the corner of East Davis Street (Highway 105) and First Street.  Early records show the two churches had a great influence on the citizens of Conroe where there was much lawlessness and men could buy all the nickel beer and dime whiskey they wanted.

     In March 1893, the church elected a building committee to erect their own church, choosing the site near the old Montgomery County Hospital at the intersection of South First Street and Avenue E.  They had turkey dinners, pie suppers, and bazaars to raise the money to pay for the church building.  After two years of hard work by the building committee and other devout members, Conroe Baptists had a wood frame church of their own.

     Brother J.W. Brazleton was ordained as a minister on May 2, 1896, the first pastor to be ordained in this church.  Later that same year on December 8, he became the third pastor of the church.  In 1897, Conroe became the county seat for Montgomery County.  The same year there was a yellow fever epidemic so widespread that the State Health Department quarantined the whole city of Conroe.  There weren't enough well people to bury the dead.

     During 1898, when Brother Carson was pastor, Conroe consisted of twenty-four businesses, three saloons and three hotels.  When good Christian people came to town, they walked on the wooden floorway that went from one store to another until they came to a saloon.  Then to avoid the saloon, they would move off the floorway and walk along a path around the edge of the street.

                  Brother J.W. Thomas came as pastor in 1898.  There was continued cooperation with the Methodists.  In the history of Conroe's Methodist Church, it was reported that in 1899 Miss Margaret Wahrenberger, member of a prominent Conroe family, took a group of young people from both Methodist and Baptist churches to a recreation spot under a big pecan tree north of Conroe near the railroad tracks.  There they enjoyed games of "Drop the Handkerchief" and "Good Night, Good Morning."

     The church often had difficulty paying the pastor's salary.  In 1898, while Brother Thomas was pastor, they asked the State Board for help.  In spite of their lack of funds, they still pledged $10.00 to the Evergreen Association and sent $7.00 to State Missions.  In 1899, they promised to pay $175.00 a year to Bro. Thomas, but they were only able to pay $124.75.  To remedy the situation, they planned to sell some old church seats, and they appointed members to collect back pledges.  Also in 1899, they withdrew fellowship from Dr. H.W. Earthman because, the church minutes state, "He had yielded to the temptation of dancing."  J.W. Thomas ended his pastorate in Conroe with the church still negligent in paying his salary.

     When Brother W.J. Durham came in 1900, Conroe could boast a population of one thousand and nine people, but there were not enough Baptists to pay the preacher, and the people of the church again asked the help of the State Board to pay the pastor.  First, the congregation asked for $200.00 a year but then amended the motion to ask for $400.00 so that he could be a full time pastor.  In spite of financial difficulties, they gave $10.00 to Home and Foreign Missions and $5.00 to State Missions.

     Brother T.W. Boynton came as pastor in February 1902, preaching on the first and fourth Sundays, twice each day for a salary of $250.00 a year. It is generally thought that Baptists have always relied on offerings, but that year they had an oyster supper to help pay the pastor.  The minutes show they made $14.70.  Brother Boynton left the church in September, just seven months after he became pastor.   Evidently, he had been a good pastor as an article appearing in the Conroe Courier stated that "the Baptist Sunday School is prosperous and has over a hundred members represented in twelve classes.  There are also a Senior and a Junior B.Y.P.U. and a Ladies Aid and Missionary Society."

     J.W. McLeod came as pastor in 1902.  Since the church had no baptistry, after each protracted meeting, they held their baptismal service at Stewart's Creek, two miles east of town, the mill pond or the San Jacinto River.  People sang hymns as the people were lead to the creek to be baptized.  A favorite hymn was "Shall we Gather at the River."

     J.J. Pipkin, W.C. Brown, J.J. Wester, and George McDaniel served as pastors from 1902 to 1912.  They probably served a short period because the church had difficulty paying their salary.

     The church must have liked Brother Boynton who had been their pastor in 1902, for they called him back in 1912.  Finances had been poor before when he was pastor, and they still were, for the church had to borrow money from the bank in order to pay him. Bro. Boynton pastored two years and Rev. J.H.H. Ellis of Cleveland came to Conroe in 1913 to preach for one Sunday in each month, including the fourth Sunday in September.

     The year 1914 was a banner year for the church.  They carpeted their building and installed a concrete baptistry, and Dr. J.L. Hicks, prominent dentist and deacon, collected $950.00 on the pastor's salary.  They were solicitous of Brother Ellis, too, for the church voted to join the Methodists in having alternate services at the courthouse square during July and August so that Bro. Ellis could have a vacation.  Once again the church collected money for Foreign and Home Missions and gave an even worthier gift of $68.00.  Also in 1916, Pastor Ellis asked the church to put the Baptist Standard in each person's house.  If the family could not afford it, then the church would pay for it.

     In April 1917, the United States entered World War I, joining France and Great Britain against Germany.  As men from Conroe answered the call to serve their country, the church prayed fervently for their safe return.

     In August of that year, the church had a tent meeting near the courthouse.  Like well-organized Baptists still do, they took a census.  It revealed that out of 954 participants, 247 were Baptists with 142 who preferred the Baptist Church.  Methodists were very close in number with 225 members and 91 who preferred Methodism.  Other denominations and their membership were 43 Catholic, 20 Christian, 10 Presbyterian, 6 Episcopal, 3 Christian Science, 2 Latter Day Saints, 2 Lutheran, 2 Church of God, 1 Primitive Baptist.  123 of the 954 polled said they had no preference.

     Brother R.E. Day was the evangelist for that tent meeting.  Two years later he would be called as pastor of Conroe Baptist.  Brother Ellis was delighted with the results of that tent meeting.  Thirty-one people came by letter and twenty-eight for baptism.  Brother Ellis left, and it was at this time that the church gave the Ladies Auxiliary the task of hiring the janitor and supervising his work.  The church also voted to have a relief fund for the benefit of those in distress.

     Brother W. W. Morris came as pastor in November of 1917.  While he was pastor, the church named a committee of forty-two people to look after the sick.  There was a flu epidemic during World War I, and that was the reason a large committee was needed.  Brother Morris resigned September 13, 1918, and died the next month.

     With the coming of  J.P. Olive as pastor in 1919, the church was able to do something for the mill people.  They organized a Sunday School for them.  The salary for Brother Olive was $100.00 a month.  The members wanted to build a new church, but they could not find anyone who wanted to buy their property.  Instead they voted to repair the frame building and put in fans.  About the same time they went on record as being against dancing and Sunday baseball.  Bro. Olive left in December of 1919, and they called Brother R.E. Day, the evangelist for their tent meeting in 1917, as pastor.

     After World War I, persecution of African Americans began anew.  Sadly, Conroe was no exception to this practice.  When it was alleged that a white woman had been assaulted by a black man, the whole community was inflamed.  An angry mob gathered, removed this man from jail, and proceeded to kill him.  Pastor Day tried to intervene, making an impassioned plea to let justice be carried out by the courts.  The vengeful mob threatened to kill him, too, if he didn't leave.  As John Boedeker related this tragic event, he remarked that he was so glad that the church had a courageous pastor.

     The church had outgrown the wooden frame building.  In 1920, four lots near the school building were bought for a new church.  Later, three of these lots were sold to the school for $975.00, and "four Wahrenberger lots" joining the church property were bought.  This property became the permanent home of the church.  A new building committee was appointed in April, 1920.  They estimated the cost of a new building to be $25,000, but it actually cost $40,000. They asked the Home Mission Board to assist them financially.  In the letter they wrote, they stated that the Methodist Church in Conroe had a beautiful brick building, and the Baptist Church had only a frame building. The Board had helped Houston Baptists, and they should help Conroe Baptists.  Evidently, the Board did not respond as they wrote another letter the following year. They started work on the new building in March, 1921, but had to stop several times because they were short of money.  Judge S.A. McCall was chairman of the building committee.  At one point, he stated, "It will take grit, grace, and greenbacks to complete this project."

     Each time members turned out to work on the construction, they had a prayer meeting.  They prayed earnestly that they would build to the honor and glory of God.  Brother Day worked along with them, laying bricks.  A young man who worked as a carpenter, Tom Gray, would be called as pastor ten years later.  The building was completed in December, 1921.  What a great day!  Dr. Lee Scarborough, an outstanding Baptist leader, preached.  The crowd of 1100 persons could not fit into the auditorium, but all took part in dinner on the ground.  During the dedication services, the name was officially changed from Conroe Missionary Baptist Church to First Baptist Church.  Less than two months after the completion of the building, the church had a revival which resulted in sixty-four additions, forty-one coming on profession of faith.

     In the 1923 associational letter, the church reported that "tithing was a potent factor in solving our financial problems".  Also in 1923, the June 24 minutes revealed that they thought church members should not be guilty of "Sabbath desecration, public or private dancing, playing cards or playing dominoes for prizes, cursing and swearing, use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, bootlegging, patronizing bootleggers or giving them aid and comfort knowingly" and "they did not look with favor on members who willfully failed or refused to support the church."  However, they took no measures to dismiss any members.

     After five years as pastor, the longest tenure thus far, Brother Day resigned to pastor a church in Uvalde.  Brother C.D. Howard became pastor in 1924.  He loved young people and led the church to have its first banquet for graduating seniors in the spring of 1925.

     About the same time, four choir members received a letter from the choir director requesting that “they no longer sit in the choir as they are trying to fill the choir with talented voices and as their voices are not talented, they are requested to stay out."  The church in business session condemned that letter.

     July 1925 was a busy month.  They voted to send 300 chickens to Buckner's Orphan Home, they protested against having Sunday baseball in Lewis Park, and they engaged a lady to provide food and care at $1.00 a day to the Holidays, who could no longer care for themselves.  The church disposed of their livestock, saying they could get $45.00 for the cows.  They also had hogs and a horse, but no price was put on them.

     Brother Howard left in 1928 and Dr. R.H. Tharp came, the first pastor who had a doctor of theology degree.  In his autobiography he described Conroe as “a beautiful little city nestled among East Texas pines, of Conroe people being gracious and hospitable, especially Dr. J.L. Hicks and his charming wife, and of winning Dr. Falvey, Montgomery County's leading physician, to the Lord.  Dr. Tharp had one revival which lasted two weeks and he wrote that a "near-pentecostal awakening resulted."  He spoke of victory in prayer which preceded the revival and song leading by Morris Day, the son of the previous pastor, Brother R.E. Day. 

     A month after Dr. Tharp, a Baylor graduate, arrived, the church pledged $500.00 to the greater Baylor campaign. The church also gave a love gift to Mrs. Park who had been secretary of the Sunday School.  The gift was five dresses and $20.00 cash.  Dr. Tharp left Conroe for West End Baptist Church in Houston. 

     Brother J. I. F. Tharp came less than a month after R.H. Tharp left.  He came to this church at the beginning of the depression, but, in spite of this, the church gave shoes to a family in distress, allotting $8.77, and Dr. J.L. Hicks, chairman of the deacons, reported they had bought and paid for coal for the winter.

     The church continued to cooperate with the Methodist Church inviting them to join in the Thanksgiving Service at this church and asking the new Methodist pastor to preach the sermon.

     In 1931 due to the depression, the church telephone was eliminated, and although the pastor was making only $200.00 a month, his salary was cut ten percent. To complete payments on the church building, then ten years old, they had to borrow $2000.00 from the Home Mission Board.  The good news was that they had a revival led by C.Y. Dossey, state evangelist, and sixty-eight people accepted Christ as Savior; Drew Pete McFarland, Jr., a man who would continue in the ministry for forty-seven years, was licensed to preach; the deacons arranged for wood for the winter; and someone gave a Christmas tree for the annual Christmas program when there wasn't enough money to buy one.

     Finally in December 1931, Conroe changed for the better financially.  George Strake struck oil in Montgomery County.  Quickly Conroe's population doubled to 5,000.  One source said they went from 2500 to 15,000.  Overnight, Conroe became a city of tents and hastily constructed houses.  Major oil companies leased land from the farmers.  Previously, farmers had been accustomed to coming to town twice a month.  With their new found wealth, many now came to town everyday shopping from early morning to sunset.  The city paved its streets, making it easier to get to church, too.

     When Rev. J.I. F. Tharp left in 1934, Brother Thomas A. Gray came.  He had worked on the second church building as a carpenter, and now he was back as its pastor.  During his nine years, the membership of the church grew from 772 to 1,245.  He baptized more than 275 people and built an educational building which housed church offices, a library, a kitchen, and Sunday School rooms.  Brother Gray left Conroe to become pastor of First Baptist Church, McAllen.

     World War II was still the overriding concern of everyone when Brother H.M. Godfrey came as pastor.  No church meeting was conducted without a heartfelt prayer for men in the service.  During Brother Godfrey's three-year pastorate, 171 people came on profession of faith.  Brother Graves Darby, a blind evangelist, held one of the revivals that resulted in a number of these baptisms.  Brother Godfrey resigned in 1946.  During the time the church was without a pastor, the organist was paid twice as much monthly as the choir director.  She was paid $50.00, and he was paid $25.00.

     In May 1946, Dr. Kermit T. Melugin came as pastor.  He was a contemporary of Dr. W.A. Criswell and came with the recommendation that he was as great an orator as Dr. Criswell.  He had served as a chaplain in World War II and three months after he came, he resigned saying he wanted to return to the service.  The church gave him two weeks to reconsider his resignation, but he chose to leave.

     Dr. A.C. Donath, who had been a missionary to Africa for seven years, came from First Baptist Church, San Angelo to pastor Conroe's First Baptist.  He was a good organizer and began two missions that became churches.  He put up a tent on the south side of town and preached a revival.  With the harvest from this tent meeting, Southside Baptist Church began.  Later, Dr. Donath started Woodland Heights.  The first pastors of the missions were T.J. Rutledge and Johnny Johnson, young people in the church who had surrendered to preach.  T.J. went on to do pioneer work in the Southern Baptist Convention and is still a pastor.  Johnny pastored for a number of years and is now teaching public school.  He married a First Baptist member, Jo Pate.  Ebbie Smith and Donna Rodman Smith also felt God's call, and became missionaries to Indonesia, serving there for fifteen years.  In 1996, Ebbie is a professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, having an impact on future Baptist ministers.  The Lord called out another young man, Charles Clark, who has spent most of his ministry preaching in Utah.  Other ministers ordained were J.A. Corder, L.H. Beasley, and Ben Hobbs.

     During Dr. Donath's pastorate, the church built another educational building.  Dick Hooper gave the Hooper Chapel in memory of his parents.

     Freddie Gage led one of the most memorable revivals in the Fifties.  He had been a drug addict and when he met Jesus, it was a life-changing event. It was and is his desire to tell others what Jesus can do for them.  Striding across the platform with his bright green suit and green and white polka dot tie, he was a flamboyant personality and he packed the church house every night.  That year the church baptized 110.

     During Dr. Donath's pastorate, Doug Brown, now a popular Channel 13 TV weatherman was music and education director for a brief time.  Ruby Drennan became church secretary, a position she held for more than twenty-five years.

     Citizens of Conroe today owe a debt to Dr. Donath for naming the streets and assigning numbers to houses.  Prior to that, the directions to a person's house were landmarks; for example, Mr. Jones lives four blocks north of the courthouse in front of Mr. Dean's grocery store.

     The next pastor was the youngest pastor in the history of the church.  He was Ray Mayfield, aged 30 who came from Goldthwaite.  Ray grew up in a pastor's home.  His father Ray, Sr. pastored in Houston at West University.  When Ray left home, he continued his education at the University of Texas where he lettered in football under the great coach Dana X. Bible.  His education was interrupted by World War II, and he served his country in the infantry.  After the Lord called him to preach, he transferred to Baylor and lettered in football there, too.

     Although Ray was very athletic, he was a gentle man, a devoted father and husband, a good speaker and leader.  While Ray was pastor, he used original drama to illustrate his ideas.  One play he wrote was about stewardship, perhaps one of the reasons the church increased its giving to the Cooperative Program to 16% of the budget.  During Ray's ministry, the church called Nella Casement as education director.  She made an impact on teachers and leaders to live their lives as Christ lived and to teach as He taught.  Many of those she taught are still serving Him faithfully at First Baptist.

     Two surrendered to the ministry while Ray was pastor, Bill Hardage who was director of the choir, and Noel Smith, brother of Ebbie Smith.  After Bill Hardage completed his seminary training, he pastored in Texas churches.  His son also became a minister.  Noel Smith has been bi-vocational pastor at Briggs Baptist Church since 1967. In 1996, he is also teaching Communication at North Central Texas College and is finishing a Ph.D. at A&M.

     First Baptist built two Sunday School buildings, the Nursery and the Intermediate buildings, and acquired property for the parking lot while Ray was pastor.  After seven fruitful years, Ray Mayfield resigned to become assistant to the president of Houston Baptist University.

     Dr. Cliff Herrington became pastor of First Baptist in 1964 and he served until 1983.  Under his leadership, the church experienced tremendous growth.  In 1969, a new auditorium was begun.  It was constructed don the site of the auditorium built in 1921 at the corner of Main and Cochran streets.

     The new auditorium seating 900 was constructed at a cost of $458,000.  It was dedicated on July 19, 1970.  The building included a three story educational wing, choir rehearsal area, and offices.  Construction began in July 1974 on the Family Activities Center, located on the west side of Main Street, across the street from the main auditorium.  This building was dedicated on April 1, 1975.  Former pastor Ray Mayfield delivered the dedicatory message.  Ruby Drennan, secretary for the church for 26 years, was honored.  She retired on March 28, 1975.

     During Dr. Herrington’s pastorate, the membership more than doubled, growing from 1,200 to 2,936; the annual budget was less than $100,000 when he came and was $1,656,766 when he left.  The church plant covered two city blocks and was valued at close to $2,000,000.

     Dr. Herrington began four missions, all of which became strong churches:  Oak Ridge Baptist, First Baptist of the Woodlands, Sawdust Road Baptist, and West Conroe Baptist.

     Many young people surrendered their lives to serve Christ.  Among them were two of Dr. Herrington’s sons: John who serves with the North American Mission Board and Phil who pastors in Santee, California.

     Dr. Herrington resigned after nineteen years of service in Conroe to become pastor of First Baptist Church, Georgetown, Texas.  Because of his remarkable leadership, First Baptist Church had a great reputation and one hundred-fifty ministers applied for the pastorate he vacated.

     In 1984, Dr. Marshall Edwards accepted the invitation to become pastor.  During his seven-year pastorate, church membership increased to 4,373, with an average attendance of 1,017 and an annual budget of $1,820,469.  Additional space was needed to accommodate the increased membership.  As a result, the Land Acquisition Committee recommended the purchase of thirty-three acres of land located at the intersection of Loop 336 and FM 2854 for the purpose of building a new church plant.  Soon after making plans to relocate, the oil industry faltered, and increased unemployment necessitated that the church sell the Loop property and remain at the downtown site.  Subsequently, the church built a three-story education building of 24,504 square feet which cost approximately $1,380,000.  More parking space was also needed, and the Dan H. Madeley family generously donated property adjacent to one of the parking lots, almost doubling the parking area.  Marshall Edwards resigned in 1990.

     First Baptist Church was without a pastor seventeen months when Dr. Milton Magness came as pastor in 1992.  Highlights of his pastorate were enlisting members to spend a week constructing buildings at Katy, Clear Creek, and Bridge City; organizing crews to help members whose homes were flooded; offering the church facilities to the burned-out all black Jones Chapel Baptist Church and leading members to give the largest gift to Foreign Missions of $31,656.  Dr. Magness resigned in 1994.

     Dr. Charles Douglas Walton was called to be pastor of First Baptist Church in May, 1995.  In his first years, he led the church to sponsor The Living Waters Mission, now located on Airport Road and to remodel the sanctuary at a cost of $600,000.  Remarkably, the cost of the remodeling was paid for the first day worship was held in the sanctuary.

     Since the establishment of the first mission, four more were begun and are now flourishing churches:  Libertad on Sawdust Road, Spring; Cornerstone Baptist Church, the Woodlands and Lake Forest Community Church at Turner Elementary School in Willis.  The sixth mission established Baptist Fellowship of the Americas meeting at Southside Baptist Church in Conroe.  Instead of trying to build a mega-church, it is Dr. Walton’s vision to begin many missions in areas of Montgomery County where there is no church.  To bring Christ to people who are not attending any church is his goal.

     At the same time, Dr. Walton has led the downtown church to build a new multipurpose structure consisting of 38,245 square feet and costing around $5,000,000 housing a welcome center, library,  bridal suite, fellowship hall seating two hundred fifty people, a kitchen, educational space, and a music suite, consisting of a large choir rehearsal room, offices, and music library.

     Also, since Dr. Walton began his pastorate the membership is at 2,800.  The average Sunday School attendance is 742.  The annual budget is $2.7 million.

     Not only is Dr. Walton pastor of First Baptist, but he is also a denominational leader.  He serves as a member of the Executive Board of Tryon-Evergreen Association and a part of its administrative team.  He serves on two statewide boards, the state publication for Baptists and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

     First Conroe is indeed fortunate to have a minister who is active in the community.  He is involved in the Conroe Ministerial Alliance, Chaplain of the Conroe Police Department, Chaplain at Conroe Regional Hospital and many other community activities.  Community Thanksgiving and Easter week services are held at First Baptist.  Men and women’s Bible Study Fellowship (non-denominational groups) gather each week at First Baptist during the school year.

     Dr. Walton has said that First Baptist exists to celebrate God’s presence in worship, to communicate God’s message in evangelism, to educate God’s people in discipleship and to demonstrate God’s love in ministry. First Baptist desires to be a blessing to this city and its people.

In the mid-1880s the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway extended its Navasota-Montgomery spur eastward through the town, which thus became the only junction of major rail lines in the county. Conroe Mill School was established in 1886, and not long afterward the community's first black school was founded at Madeley Quarters, south of town. A lumber boom beginning in the late nineteenth century in the Piney Woods of eastern and central Montgomery County attracted scores of settlers to Conroe. By 1889 the population had climbed to an estimated 300. In that year Conroe replaced Montgomery as county seat. A residence donated by Isaac Conroe served as a temporary courthouse until a permanent brick structure could be erected in 1891. By the early 1890s Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist congregations were organized in the town; they initially shared a single house of worship. Simultaneously, black residents founded Baptist and African Methodist Episcopal congregations.

 

By 1892 the community had become a shipping center for lumber, cotton, livestock, and bricks, and had five steam-powered saw and planing mills, several brickyards, a cotton gin, a gristmill, several hotels and general stores, and a population of 500. The Conroe Independent School District was established in 1892, combining twelve nearby common school districts. By 1896 the community's first weekly newspaper, the Courier, had been founded.

 

By 1900 Conroe was Montgomery County's largest community. It was incorporated in 1904 with a population of 1,009, and its first mayor and city council were elected the following year. In 1906 the first electric lighting appeared in the town when an electrical generating plant was constructed on nearby Stewarts Creek. Over the next two decades the Conroe Independent School District was expanded to encompass twenty-five square miles. Some 617 pupils were enrolled in the district by 1913.

 

The prosperity of the local agriculture and timber industries in the early twentieth century enabled Conroe to continue its rapid early growth despite severe fires in 1901 and 1911, which destroyed much of the business district near the courthouse square. Southwest of town in 1913 the Delta Land and Timber Company established one of the most extensive milling operations in the South; the company eventually employed 700 people. In addition to its many churches and schools, by 1914 Conroe had two banks, five grocery and hardware stores, two dry-goods stores, two drugstores, a cotton gin, a waterworks, a planing mill, numerous sawmills, box factories, cross-tie mills, two weekly newspapers, the Courier and the Montgomery County Times, and an estimated population of 1,374. The population continued to climb for the next several years, reaching an estimated 1,858 in the mid-twenties and an estimated 2,457 by 1931.

 

A sanitarium was established in Conroe in 1920. The community acquired its first fire truck in 1921, and two years built its first fire station. In the mid-1920s the Dr Pepper Company opened a soft-drink plant in the community. In 1925 the Conroe Independent School District was enlarged to its present size, 330 square miles, with the inclusion of fifteen rural common schools and 600 additional pupils scattered through central and southern Montgomery County. Children from discontinued schools were transported in private buses to schools in Conroe.

 

After years of sustained growth, the town's prosperity was threatened in the late 1920s by the dwindling of the improperly managed local timber supply. Then in 1930 the spreading effects of the Great Depression struck Montgomery County, drastically curtailing lumber production and forcing many mills to close. In November 1930 Conroe's only bank abruptly failed and pushed many residents and institutions into financial doldrums for many years. Faced with precipitous declines in revenue, Conroe's schools struggled to complete full terms. But the community's fortunes began to improve on December 13, 1931, when George W. Strake discovered oil seven miles southeast of town, thus marking the opening of the Conroe oilfield and triggering an oil boom in the county. Within weeks the local economy had revived, as many petroleum wholesalers, retailers, and service companies and thousands of workers entered the town. By 1933 the population was an estimated 5,000, and eighty-four business were reported in the community. The Conroe school district, rescued from financial distress by the discovery of oil within its boundaries, became one of the wealthiest in the state, and its enrollment began to grow rapidly. A community center and a swimming pool were completed by the district in the early 1940s.

 

The oil revenues and population influx of the 1930s lent Conroe a boomtown atmosphere. It briefly claimed more millionaires per capita than any other town in the United States. During the early 1930s streets were paved for the first time, and U.S. Highway 75 was extended through the town. The thirty-seven-room State Hotel was completed in 1933. The ornate Crighton Theater was erected on the courthouse square in 1935. In 1936 a new courthouse was constructed, and two years later a county hospital was completed not far from the courthouse square. That year the population surged to an estimated 10,000, but it soon began to subside as production in the Conroe oilfield crested and began a gradual decline. By 1941 the population stood at an estimated 4,624.

 

During World War II the town's lumber industry revived, but it never regained its earlier preeminence and lapsed into a steady decline after 1950. Its former position was increasingly assumed by chemical firms, including a carbon black factory (see CARBON BLACK INDUSTRY) and a recycling plant, established after the oil discovery. The Montgomery County Airport, three miles northeast of town on Farm Road 1484, was constructed during the war as a military facility but since 1945 has served as a local airfield. In 1946 the Montgomery County Library was established in Conroe. By 1952 Conroe had a population estimated at 7,313 and 340 businesses. The population climbed to an estimated 9,192 in 1961 and 11,969 in 1972.

 

With the construction of Interstate Highway 45, increasing numbers of Houstonians took up residence on the margins of Conroe. Lake Conroe was impounded in the late 1960s and early 1970s, seven miles northwest on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, further stimulating local growth. In addition to the familiar lumber and petrochemical concerns, a number of new manufacturing and engineering firms have been established in Conroe. The population reached an estimated 18,034 by 1982. Conroe Independent School District had an enrollment of 8,873 in 1971 and 15,112 by 1976. In 1980 the district employed 1,200 teachers in twenty-eight schools. Conroe Normal and Industrial College has struggled for survival since the depression; by 1980 enrollment had been reduced to 176. In the 1980s Conroe had two hospitals, a nursing home, ten medical clinics, nineteen churches, three radio stations, a television station, a cab company, e new sewage treatment plant, and a newspaper named the Daily Courier. The population grew to 27,610 by 1990.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Robin Navarro Montgomery, The History of Montgomery County (Austin: Jenkins, 1975). Montgomery County Genealogical Society, Montgomery County History (Winston-Salem, North Carolina: Hunter, 1981). The Choir Invisible: An Early History of Montgomery County (Montgomery, Texas: Montgomery Historical Society, 195?).

 

Charles Christopher Jackson

 

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "CONROE, TX," http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/hec3.html (accessed August 19, 2005).