The Reagan Baptist Church was founded in the early 1870's in the home of Richard and Sarah Jones in the Hog Island area just north of the present location of the Reagan Baptist Church according to Brother Richard's son, William P. Jones. The first recorded person to join the Reagan Baptist Church was C.A. Pruett, born in September of 1847 in Conecuh County, Alabama,who joined the Reagan Baptist Church in August 1876. Two of the first Reagan Baptist Church ministers were Rev. Harper and Tubb. Rev. Harper was the first postmaster and Brother Tubb had a store and later the post office was located in his store.

According to Mr Obe Adams of Mart, Texas, " "I was born in 1857 in Grimes County. My parents came to Texas in 1836 and came with some of Sterling Robertson's colony. They settled on the lower Blue Ridge, a settlement east of Reagan, Texas. I was about 13 years of age when the Houston and Texas Central railroad came through the community of what is now the town of Reagan, Texas. "We had a little school and church house combined on the Ridge, and it was called the Shady Grove school and Methodist church. I helped to build this building. Some of the members were my father, I.N.and Bad Crouch, and the Powers family, others. I remember that Rev. Kinnard was a Primitive Baptist preacher and preached in the homes".

Text of an Interview with William P. Jones of Reagan, Texas:

"My parents were Richard and Sarah Jones, and I was born in Carolina County, Virginia, in 1852. I came with my parents to Texas in the year 1860. We came by boat down the Mississippi river, then through the Gulf of Mexico and landed at Galveston, Texas, and came from there up the Bayou to Houston and from Houston we came overland in ox-wagons to our first home, which was at Navasota, Texas. My father bought land from some squatters and in time, the rightful heirs came and claimed it, so we lost the land.

"While we were living in Navasota, the Civil War was declared and four of my brothers served under the flag of the Confederacy. Walter was in Hood's Brigade and was killed in action; another, Napoleon, was in the same Brigade but he lived to return home. Stanfield fought in Speight's Brigade and he, too, returned home after the war. He fought in Louisiana. Richard Hampton was in Tom Green's Brigade and he, too, came back. He was also in some of the battles.

"At the close of the war, the yellow fever broke out in Texas and was getting close to where we lived near Navasota, so, when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad reached Bryan, we moved to Falls County. I rode the first engine into Bryan, Texas. We settled on Hog Island, a little settlement a few miles above the present town of Reagan.

"When father became settled at Hog Island he organized a Baptist Sunday School. However other denominations worshipped with us until their church (Reagan Methodist church built in 1883) was built. The Hog Island Cemetery was started in 1873 so that community was settled in the early 1870's).

Until we built a church, we held services in our home. Two of our first ministers were Rev. Harper and Tubb.

Rev. Harper was the first postmaster and Brother Tubb had a store and later the post office was located in his store.

C.A. Pruett, born in September of 1847 in Conecuh County, Alabama "Joined the Reagan Baptist Church August 1876". This is the earliest recorded member joining the Reagan Baptist Church.



CALENDAR OF THE WEEK, June 2, 1932>

Preaching Services:11:00AM and 8:00PM
Sunday School:10:00AM
B.T.S. , 6:00PM
W.M.S., 2:30PM Monday
Prayer Meeting, 8:00PM Wednesday
Choir Practive, 8:45PM Wednesday

PASTORS AND OTHER CHURCH LEADERS AT THE REAGAN BAPTIST CHURCH

Two of the first ministers of the Reagan Baptist Church were Rev. Harper and Rev. Tubb. Rev. Harper was the first postmaster and Brother Tubb had a store and later the post office was located in his store.

Rev. W. A. Knight, was pastor of the Reagan Baptist church in 1903

In the early 1930's, J.D. Barnes was pastor
N.D. Dunham was Superintendent of Sunday School Classes
Miss Gladys Houston was president of the B.T.S.
Mrs. T.B. Higgins was president of the WMS
T.B. Higgins was leader of the prayer meetings
Mrs. Horn Kirkpatrick was director of the choir
Neil Shaunfield was church treasurer
M.K. Alston was church clerk.
In 1940, Rev. Robert Barnes was the preacher. He had a daughter, Nell Barnes, and two sons named Fella (Robert) and Biff. They later moved to Valley Mills Texas.

In 1942, Fred L. DeVaney was pastor of the Reagan Baptist Church.

From the summer of 1947 to the summer of 1951, Rev. William Ray (W. R.)Wyatt was pastor of the Reagan Baptist Church. He and his wife, Dorothy Evelyn Wyatt and five children occupied the Baptist parsonage for four years.


Rev. W.R. and Dorothy Evelyn Wyatt, photo taken in 1947.

Later pastors were:
George Carroll Burke
Joe Philbrick
Brother McGuire, Bob Norris, and the present minister is Carl Whitworth Jr.

REVERAND W.R. WYATT

This great description of the Wyatt family comes to us curtesty of Jessie Wyatt Innmon (jdinnmon@ev1.net) of Austin (1/24/05).

Rev. W. R. Wyatt was always a bi-vocational pastor. His skills were in carpentry and bridge construction. We were in Reagan from Summer 1947 to summer 1951.
I will never forget the summers when our home was full of Mission students from Baylor. In the evenings after dad got off work, we went to the black community way out in the country, the Mexican community and the Polish community. Riding in the back of dad's pickup with tall wooden side-boards, we picked up kids from every farm house on the way and went to old schools or community centers to hold Bible Schools. This gave me a heart for missions.

Some of the Mission students were characters. Mary Bayless could do the Tarzan yell and as soon as a house was barely in site she would yell. Little kids came running from everywhere. Another summer visitor was Mildred McWhorter who gave her career to working with street people in Houston. Sam Longbottom who was Reagan principle for a short time served with his wife Marion in Viet Nam and then Hawaii before retiring. One missionary's off-spring served in Brazil for thirty years before retiring.

Sally Bee Davis, a beautiful Reaganite of nineteen years was so interested in Missions that she joined us. One tragic day one of our Baylor students and Sally Bee went to Marlin to pick up supplies with Sally's two year old nephew. There was a tragic accident and Sally Bee was killed, her nephew lived and the Mission student suffered many serious injuries but lived This was a very dark day for Reaganites..

The members of First Baptist were very close and had so many great fellowships together, of course over food.

Our next move in 1951 was to Mineral Wells where dad was contractor and builder as well as pastor of Immanuel Baptist. This is where June and Jean, the two older girls left home for college.

We moved to Fort Worth in 1955 where dad worked for a bridge construction firm as superintendent, drove a cab for one year to pay college tuition and pastored Melody Hills Baptist Church.

After we three younger ones left home, Dad and mom were called to California to the mission field. Dad pastored in Corona for a couple of years and they were on the pastorate to Mt. Whitney Baptist Church in Lone Pine, California for seven years.

Mom and dad moved back to Lake Whitney to build their retirement home but dad was sent to Potosi, Mo and Wyoming for three years to work of Brown & Root as superintendent. On weekends and Wednesday evenings, mom would have food ready and they would drive great distances between ranches for him to preach at small country churches.

Mom and dad retired once more to enjoy life on Lake Whitney but soon, Cedar Creek Baptist Church was seeking a pastor. Dad had been with this older church for several years when he began building a steeple for the little church. He had his nail apron on and tools in hand when he dropped dead one day in September 1985 while mom was gone. He had pulmonary edema. Until the end, dad had always enjoyed good health. The deacons of Cedar Creek finished the steeple and asked all of us to come to the dedication which we did. They were wonderful people like Reaganites.

June Wyatt Nesbit resides in San Antonio, Texas with husband, Adrian Nesbit. Dorothy Evelyn Brown Wyatt lives with them and in their good care will be 90 years old this October 2005.

Jean Wyatt Kemp resides in Salado, Texas with husband Leroy kemp.

Jane Wyatt Davis lives in a nursing home in Tyler, Texas.

Jessie Wyatt Innmon resides in Austin, Texas.

Joan Wyatt Bradley resides with her husband, Richard in Arlington, Texas part of the year and on a farm in Linn Creek, Missouri the remainder of the year.

We gave dad and mom seven grandsons and five granddaughters. There are nineteen great-grandchildren".

Jessie Wyatt Innmon Writer/Speaker jdinnmon@ev1.net


Reverand Wyatt and his five daughters. Rev. Wyatt was the Reagan Baptist minister from the summer of 1947 through the summer of 1951. Photo taken in front of the Baptist parsonage in 1950.


Rev. and Mrs. W.R. Wyatt inside the Reagan Baptist Church.


Mrs. Wyatt and her daughters, photo taken in 1950.


Wyatt Family photo taken in 1948.




The Baptist Church recruited far and wide for Vacation Bible School and most of the kids in Reagan attended at one time or another. George Macdonald, a member of the Methodist Church in Reagan was one of the vacation bible schoolers in 1942!




Members of the Reagan Baptist Church

James D. and Jocie Johnson McCaleb and their children were members of the Reagan Baptist Church until they left Reagan. Their children include:
Billie McCaleb
Reverand Gary McCaleb is currently the minister of the Faith Baptist Church in Duncanville
Gladys McCaleb Emmons of Littleton, Colorado. Gladys Mae (born 12-18-1929) became a Baptist Missionary.
Charlcie McCaleb Laws now lives in Houston
Glenda McCaleb Rhea lives in Midland
and Nona McCaleb Tarver lives in Lubbock.


Gary is currently minister of the Faith Baptist Church in Duncanville. (http://www.duncanvillefaithbc.org/index.html)



Rev. William Ray (W. R.)Wyatt was pastor of the Reagan Baptist Church from the summer of 1947 through the summer of 1951. Reverand Wyatt and his wife, Dorothy Evelyn Brown Wyatt and their five children were church members for four years.

Rev. and Mrs. Wyatt had five children:
June Wyatt Nesbit resides in San Antonio, Texas with husband, Adrian Nesbit. Dorothy Evelyn Brown Wyatt lives with them and in their good care will be 90 years old this October 2005.
Jean Wyatt Kemp resides in Salado, Texas with husband Leroy kemp.
Jane Wyatt Davis lives in a nursing home in Tyler, Texas.
Jessie Wyatt Innmon resides in Austin, Texas.
Joan Wyatt Bradley resides with her husband, Richard in Arlington, Texas part of the year and on a farm in Linn Creek, Missouri the remainder of the year.


June, Jean, Jane, Jessie and Joan Wyatt



Archie Herbert and Vida Elizabeth Sissom Hetherington were members of the Reagan Baptist Church.



Hugh and Essie Kirkpatrick and their five children were long time members of the Reagan Baptist Church. The Kirkpatrick children included:
Robert W. Kirkpatrick
Billy H. Kirkpatrick
Betty J. Kirkpatrick Mackie
John T. Kirkpatrick
Linda Kirkpatrick




Charles Rose (Charlie)and Bernice Fuller Short and children: Norman Ross
Joe Short
joined the Reagan Baptist church in the early 1950's.



Former Reagan Baptist Church Members

Nona Mildred McCaleb	James Gary McCaleb	Charlcie McCaleb
Mrs. Hugh (Essie)Kirkpatrick	Joe Short	Norman Short
Jessie Wyatt (photo 1950)	June Wyatt (photo 1951)	Joan Wyatt (photo 1952)
Rev. W.R. and Dorothy Wyatt (photo 1947)	Jean Wyatt (photo 1953)	Jane Wyatt
	NAME (photo 1951)	NAME (photo 1952)
NAME	NAME	NAME

Reagan Baptist Missionaries

Casey Walden- missionary of the First Baptist Church in Reagan, Texas. Casey worked with the Vietnamese during the war. The following is an except from an investigative report published back in the 70's: "The Hmong have been the most fertile group for conversion of all the ethnic minorities," says Baptist missionary Casey Walden of First Baptist Church in Reagan, Texas.

"The reasons are twofold. First, they have suffered tremendous persecution. Second, their traditional culture speaks of a returning Messiah who will deliver them from their oppression. The mythology led the Hmong to visualize a man in a military uniform driving up in a Jeep, rather than a Messiah descending from the clouds.

"Sometimes we evangelize the Hmong via short wave radio. I even saw several villages convert to Christianity at a crusade. Someday in the near future we may need a revival tent so big it will have to be made by aliens from outer space," Walden says with obvious pleasure.



PRESENT CHURCH SERVICES

Bob Norris served as a pastor of the Baptist church for many years. In 2009, Carl Whitworth, Jr. became Pastor of the Reagan Baptist Church. Under his leadership, the church building has undergone many renovations including new ceiling lights. Church services are scheduled as follows:

Sunday School: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM
Worship Service - 11:00 AM -12:00

Obituary of Edna White McCain
Dec. 12, 1916 - March 8, 2007

Edna White McCain, 90, of Marlin, entered into rest Thursday, March 8, 2007. Graveside service will be 3:00 p.m. Saturday, March 10 at Waite Cemetery in Reagan with Rev. Clement Gordon officiating.

Edna was born Dec. 12, 1916 in Falls County to Herman H. and Birtie Wornat. She was a member of the Reagan Baptist Church. She loved to sew, she loved her family and people, and she also enjoyed playing the piano.

She was preceded in death by parents, husband, two brothers, a son and a son-in-law.

Survivors include two sons, Robert L. and wife Pat White of Angelton and Lester L. and wife Barbara White of Florence; one daughter, Joyce A. Raupe of Bryan College Station; a brother, W.A. "Dick" and wife Audrey Wornat of Marlin; three sisters, Mable and husband Johnny Ludwig of Arlington, Doris and husband William Goeke of Marlin, and Ruthie and husband Bill Coble of Burnett; four grandchildren; several great-grandchildren.

This is a project in the early beginnings. Any information of photos will be appreciated as we develop this web page. If you know of folks we don't yet have on the webpage, have any Reagan stories or old photos to share, let me know.

Thanks

Leonard Kubiak



For more information, contact Leonard Kubiak at:

E-mail: lenkubiak.geo@yahoo.com

or by mail: 1264 FM 2116, Rockdale, Texas 76567, Phone 512 630-4619.

Copyright 1996-2014. Leonard Kubiak-- All Rights Reserved. Fort Tumbleweed and forttumbleweed are trademarks of Leonard Kubiak.