Many names familiar to students of Texas history may be found on the membership rolls of Independence Baptist Church. George W. Baines, R. C. Burleson, H. F Buckner are among the names, but the most famous of all the people who made it their church home was General Sam Houston.
Houston's wife, Margaret Lea, and her mother, Mrs. Nancy Lea, were long time members of the church. In 1854 Sam Houston was, baptized by Dr. R. C. Burleson in the waters of Rocky Creek south of the church. The bell which hung in the tower beside the church for 113 years fell on March 5, 1969. The restored bell is in the Texas Baptist Historical Museum, Independence.
Mrs. Lea expressed a desire to be buried within sound of the church bell. She, her daughter Margaret Lea Houston and two servants lie buried in the fenced plot across the road from the bell tower. A cemetery about a mile north-west of the church contains many other historic graves and markers.
Because it was a center of education, culture, religion and the social graces during the midnineteenth century, Independence was known as "The Athens of Texas." Baylor University, a men's college, and Baylor College, a women's school, were later moved to Waco and Belton. Some of the ruins of Baylor College still stand on the hill west of the church.
Independence Baptist Church has been designated a Texas Baptist Historical Center by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Regular services are conducted each Sunday morning and evening and each Wednesday morning. Descendants of some of the early members live in Independence and are members of the church.
The museum is open Wednsday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. by reservation only.) It is closed Monday and Tuesday.
The Texas Baptist Historical Center has a church kitchen which can be used with small groups for mission study classes. Reservations may be made by contacting the Rev. Paul Sevar, 409-836-5117 or Rt. 5, Box 222, Brenham, Texas 77833.