Bald Prairie Church of Christ - Bald Prairie, TX
N 31° 13.296 W 096° 25.951
14R E 744577 N 3457002
A 1976 Texas Historical Marker at the Bald Prairie Church of Christ, off of FM 2096, south of its intersection with FM 979, indicates that the church building doubled as a school for twenty years at some time during its existence.
Waymark Code: WM15W05
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/05/2022
Views: 0
A 1976 Texas Historical Marker provides some background:
Organized in 1847, this fellowship worshiped with members of the Baptist church until the groups separated in 1849. A log structure served the 15 charter members of this congregation as a church and school. Elijah Rains (1813-1889) donated land for the church and community cemetery. The present building, erected during the 1880s, doubled as a school for over 20 years. It also served as a funeral chapel and social and cultural center for the community. The classrooms were added in 1940. Descendants of early members still worship here.
While the church is in excellent condition, including some modern facilities in a separate building out back, and it has a simple sign, there is nothing to suggest that the congregation is still active. They have no Internet presence, and they are not listed on the Church of Christ website, either under Franklin or Bald Prairie. Bald Prairie itself is a pleasant rural community of maybe fifty people in northeastern Robertson County, dating to 1865. The Handbook of Texas Online (see below) has a 1994 article on the community, noting that, at that time, the community had two churches, the cemetery, and the abandoned store: Since then, that second church has fallen into disuse and disrepair, leaving the Church of Christ and the cemetery as the center of activity. As the community declined when the railroad went elsewhere in the county, the church's use as a school was probably closer to 1880 than 1930.