178 Years and Counting

(As of June 2026)

Reverend Joseph Warner Dossey Creath was a Baptist Missionary born in Virginia. After graduating from the Virginia Baptist Seminary, he began a ministry that lasted 44 years. Reverend Creath and his first wife, Frances, were commissioned as missionaries to Texas. They were the first two Domestic Mission appointees of the newly formed Southern Baptist Convention. In those years, they worked to establish and strengthen churches in Huntsville, Anderson, San Antonio, and (what is now) Coldspring.

In 1848, only twelve years after the fall of the Alamo and about two and one-half years after Texas was granted statehood, Reverend Creath arrived at a small settlement near Fireman’s Hill in western Polk County. While there was evidence a Baptist Church of Town Creek had been meeting for a few years, he led an “official” organizational meeting of the Laurel Hill Baptist Church on June 4, 1848. Once organized, the church met part-time or two Sundays each month. Reverend Creath initially served as pastor from 1848-1850. He pastored several more times between 1860 and 1881.

General James B. Davis served as Adjutant-General of the Republic of Texas army in 1842. He was a close friend of Sam Houston. General Davis was among those Reverend Creath baptized. He became an important figure in our church history when he donated land for the church, baptismal, and cemetery. His daughter, Catherine, later married the widower Reverend Creath. Both General Davis and his daughter are buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. A historical marker can be found near General Davis’s grave.

In 1850 the community was little more than a point of trade. First called Coonskin, then Fireman’s Hill, the settlement was given the name of Cold Springs. There were no public schools. In 1853, several church members established a private educational institution known as the Cold Springs Female Institute. Young men were accepted by 1860. It was recognized as one of the early educational efforts of Texas Baptists, only eight years after Baylor University was chartered. The academy flourished until the beginning of the Civil War.

In 1870 the Texas legislature established San Jacinto County, out of parts of Liberty, Montgomery, Polk and Walker counties, with Cold Springs as the county seat. A courthouse and jail were built in the old town in 1877. In 1915 the original courthouse burned and in 1918 a new courthouse was built at its present location. The old church was relocated from a site near the Laurel Hill Cemetery to a site north of the new San Jacinto County Courthouse.  In 1948, the church celebrated her Centennial and voted to become a full-time church, meeting weekly. 

On January 9, 1950, a blaze of undetermined origin swept quickly through the historical building. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful. Members quickly focused on rebuilding. In just a matter of weeks the congregation held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new building on a new site with a new name – the First Baptist Church of Cold Springs. The first service was held on Dec. 31, 1950.

With the building of the dam and Lake Livingston, growth in the area continued. First Baptist Church worked to keep pace. Through the years, additional property was acquired and buildings were built, modified, and repurposed to meet the need.

During the church’s 178 years, forty-seven pastors (in addition to several interims) have served the congregation. So, as we celebrate this legacy, let us reflect on our fruitful past, faithful present, and promising future. Our church is strong, its purpose remains and our Lord is faithful. First Baptist Church Coldspring is still a place to “Grow-Love-Together.”