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Texas Historical Marker #07951
Friendship Methodist Church. As early as the 1870s, Methodist worship services for pioneers of the Friendship community were conducted by circuit riders in a one-room schoolhouse (.25 mi. W). Land for the present church site and cemetery was deeded in 1884 by E. W. Graham, and a sanctuary was built here soon after. The site of many early revivals, the Friendship Methodist Church has served as a focal point of the surrounding rural community. Traditional services for the congregation, including a Memorial Day observance in June and a Thanksgiving celebration, now serve as homecoming events. #7951
?, Davilla, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #07942
Davilla Baptist Church. A Presbytery consisting of W. Beasley, L. Williams, P. T. Corneal, and E. Allison met at Mumford Springs, Milam County, Texas (present day Davilla) to organize Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in 1866. From 1868 to 1870 the congregation held services in the Davilla Methodist Church building. In 1870 the congregation purchased a town lot here in Davilla where they constructed a sanctuary in 1871. The congregation was subsequently renamed the Baptist Church of Christ at Davilla, Texas. Early baptisms took place in several nearby creeks. People from the area west of Davilla and others converted by evangelist Elder Penn joined the congregation in the late 1870s. Church records indicate that the congregation has been referred to as Davilla Baptist Church since 1904. For many years a tabernacle adjacent to the church building was used by various local denominations for summer revivals. A baptistry was installed in the sanctuary in 1955. On February 16, 1992, the congregation held their last Sunday School and church services in the original 1871 church building and later that year a new sanctuary was completed at this site. The church continues to provide religious instruction and serve the community with various programs and activities. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995 #7942
?, Davilla, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08007
Val Verde Baptist Church. Val Verde Baptist Church traces its history to 1875, when eight members of the Baptist Church in Davilla joined together to organize a congregation closer to their homes. J. S. Mullins served as the first pastor of the new church. One of the charter members, James Putnam Whittington (1830-1909) was a veteran of the Civil War. A member of H. H. Sibley's brigade in the New Mexico Campaign, he had participated in the Battle of Val Verde. When the time came to name the new church, Whittington suggested Val Verde, and the other members agreed. The congregation met in a small schoolhouse until 1884, when Whittington donated this property for a larger sanctuary and community cemetery. A building was erected which served the members for the next sixty-five years. In 1949 a surplus army chapel was moved here from Brownwood to serve as a new sanctuary. Church members worked to rebuild the structure, and it was dedicated in January 1951. An annual church memorial day has been observed by present and former members of the congregation since 1982. The Val Verde Cemetery on the church grounds contains the graves of many area pioneers. #8007
?, Davilla, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #08005
William Carroll Sypert. (Nov. 15, 1815 - July 18, 1885) A native of Tennessee, William C. Sypert entered the army of the Republic of Texas in 1836 at the age of 20. He returned to Tennessee and married Permelia Benjamine Perry (1819-94) in 1838. After two trips via covered wagon between Tennessee and Texas, they settled permanently in Texas in 1849. A schoolteacher and musician, Sypert served as justice of the peace in Bell County, as postmaster at Bryant's Station in 1859, and as Milam County Judge, 1867-70. #8005
?, Davilla, TX, United States