Cisco, Eastland County
The Rev. C.G. Stephens, founder of Red Gap Community (1 mi. W), joined the Rev. W.B. Cobb in 1878 to organize the Red Gap Baptist Church. Forerunner of the First Baptist Church of Cisco, The Red Gap congregation had 13 charter members who met in a one-room log schoolhouse. This small membership organized seven churches into the Red Gap Baptist Association. The junction of the Texas & Pacific Railroad and the Houston & Texas Central Railroad established Cisco and began the demise of Red Gap. The congregation moved to Cisco in 1881 and built a church house at 10th and Avenue E. The next year they constructed a 36' x 50' building at this site. A deadly tornado in 1893 totally destroyed the building. A new structure, completed the following year, burned in 1924. The collapse of an earlier oil boom, which had brought rapid growth to Cisco and the church, caused financial losses. The congregation met in Cisco City Hall and schoolhouses until a new structure could be completed. This fellowship started a mission at Liberty Hill (4 mi. NW) and a Spanish language mission in northeast Cisco. Former pastors of this church have become presidents of Baptist colleges, missionaries, evangelists and special service ministers. (1978)