History of Monroe First Baptist Church

A Monroe Community meeting was held this last Tuesday evening, March 7, to discuss plans for improvements on the Community Building and Monroe Old Timers Day 2023. Bradley Hill, pastor of Monroe Baptist Church, was there and said the church would be providing a bounce house, cotton candy and snow cones for the day.

I’m wondering if anyone who reads this remembers when there wasn’t a Monroe Baptist Church. I didn’t think so . That’s because it’s been around since 1883.

Mrs. Willa K. (Morris) Reed compiled a book in 1983 to commemorate the church’s 100 year anniversary. Many of you probably still have the book.

Willa K had a special interest in the history because her great grandfather, William H. Morris, was a missionary sent to Indian Territory by the Baptist churches in Tennessee. He was part of a group that became known as, “The Short Mountain Baptist Association”. When the Association was formed in 1883, one of the eight churches participating was, New Prospect No. 2 in Monroe. The official minutes of the church began in 1910 and states that the present church was started in1901. Some said 1899, but we won’t quibble.

The 1.25 acres of land where the church is located has a legal description of lot #10, township addition #4. It was purchased in 1916 from the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations for $20. It wasn’t recorded, however, until 1948.

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