Freestone County, Texas
Churches


Ward Prairie Baptist Church

Located about 3.5 mi. north of Fairfield on FM 488 (west side of road).
The church's address is 341 FM 488 and currently served by the Fairfield post 
office.  At the time of this writing, Bro. Louis Simpson is the pastor.

Billy Chappell was a deacon there until his death in 2001.

In 1878, Ward's Prairie Baptist Church was part of the Trinity River Association.
Their messenger was D.J. Welch. J.D. William was the pastor with D.J. Welch as
clerk.

In 1883, Ward's Prairie Baptist Church sent J.M. Chappell and S.S. Orand to the 
Prairie Grove Baptist Association.  Peter E. Kirvin was the pastor and B.F. Griffin 
was the clerk at the time.  The church had 47 members.

The next year, 1884, Ward's Prairie Baptist Church sent J.W. Horton and J.C. 
Griffin to the Prairie Grove Baptist Association.  Peter E. Kirvin was the pastor 
and J.C. Griffin was the clerk at the time.  The church grew to 86 members.

1886 was a rocky year for Ward's Prairie Baptist Church.  20 were dismissed by 
letter reducing the congregation down to 58 members.  John D. Sellers and Benjamin
Robert Speed represented the church at the Prairie Grove Baptist Association.  
E. J. Brown of Fairfield became the pastor and James F. Hubbard was his clerk.  

1887 was a stable year with the only change being sending C.R. McCormack as the
messenger.

1889 was a good year bringing the membership up to 80. E.J. Brown was still the
pastor with J.S. Seal as clerk; I.W. Horton, James Lafayette Childs, and E.F. 
Griffin were the messengers.

1890 was a stable year with no changes of note.

On Decemeber 18, 1894, James Aaron Willard sold half of an acre of land for 
$25.00 to the deacons and trustees of the Ward Prarie Baptist Church and School 
Commissioners.
 
By 1895, membership had slowly grown to 90.


One hundred years later (1995), Ward Prairie was raising money for a new 
fellowship hall.

Historical Marker says:
"Ward Prairie, named for an early pioneer family,
was the site of Lake Chapel Methodist Church as early as the 1860s. The chapel,
on land donated by another pioneer family, was used as a meeting place for
other denominations, as well. Ward Prairie Baptist Church, officially organized
in 1869 under the direction of the Rev. J. C. Averitt, met in the Methodist
Chapel until 1893, when land two miles south was given to the church by the J.
W. Orand family. The Lake Chapel Methodist congregation had been consolidated
with another area church in the mid-1880s, and, according to local tradition,
the chapel building was moved here and became the Ward Prairie Baptist Church.
Membership in the church has varied over the years. Originally meeting only
once a month, the congregation held services twice monthly beginning in 1952,
and soon began to worship together each Sunday. Various events have combined to
change the structure of the Ward Prairie community, but this church has
continued to survive despite economic difficulties and area population shifts.
A good example of a rural Texas church, Ward Prairie Baptist Church has been an
integral part of the community's heritage for over a century. Texas
Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986"

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Clippings from the Fairfield Recorder
June 21, 1895

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

We the members of Ward Prairie Baptist Church, on your confession of faith, and
as honest and faithful citizens of this county, hereby subscribe our names to 
the following endorsement.

"That our beloved brother, D.A. Gaddy is a true man, as well as a faithful 
servant of Jesus Christ our Lord, and furthermore, that certain reports which 
have been circulated concerning him we believe to be false, and moreover we 
agree to uphold him in all that is right, believing him to be as humble as 
sincere a minister as anyone who bears that responsible appellation.

Signed:
W[illiam] H[ood] Orand, J.Q. Robertson, I[ra] G. Cobb, E[praphroditus "Epps"] W. 
Odom, J[ohn] M[arion] Chappell, C[alvin] T[homas] Orand, T.J. Lott, W[illiam] 
T[homas] Minchew, H[enry] F. Minchew, W[illiam] T. Keaton, Daniel Grant, 
F[ranklin] B[artholomew] Odom, N[elson] A[lexander] Willard, J[oseph] F[ranklin] 
Willard, Ben Willard, AB.B. Young, J.S. Seale.

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