BREAKING: Historic First Baptist Church Wins $150,000 Preservation Grant

Over the past month, twenty projects in locations across the United States have competed against one another in a public voting contest to secure preservation funding. With a final tally of over 58,000 votes, San Marcos…

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced today that the Historic First Baptist Church of San Marcos is one of 11 projects nation-wide to receive $150,000 in grant funding through the Partners in Preservation campaign.

Over the past month, twenty projects in locations across the United States have competed against one another in a public voting contest to secure preservation funding. With a final tally of over 58,000 votes, San Marcos secured a place in the top 11 and will receive funding towards restoration of the Historic First Baptist Church.

“The Main Street Program would like to extend an enormous thank you to our local media and community members,” said Interim Main Street Manager Josie Falletta. “This was, without a doubt, a community effort. We would not have been successful without the local support this project has received.”

The San Marcos Main Street Program invites the public to attend a proclamation at City Hall, 630 E Hopkins St, on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. to celebrate the community and partners who contributed to the success of the project.

The congregation’s original sanctuary was built in 1866 in the historically Black Dunbar neighborhood. In 1873, the church was burned down and later rebuilt in 1908 in its current location. For the better part of a century, the church was the cultural hub of the community and regularly hosted congregations, weddings, graduations and classes. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held meetings and organized at the church.

The church has been vacant since 1986, when the congregation relocated. The $150,000 in grant funding will be use to weatherproof the building and shore it up structurally.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street America and American Express are working together to bring $2 million in preservation funding to projects on America’s Main Streets through a public participation process that will raise awareness of the work being done across the country to revitalize Main Streets and neighborhood districts in small towns, mid-sized cities, and urban centers across America. The public engaged in a month-long online voting campaign to help determine the winning projects.

San Marcos was designated in 1986 as an official Main Street City by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation and remains one of the oldest Main Street programs in the state. The vision of the San Marcos Main Street Program is to foster a downtown that is a unique and culturally vibrant destination, where local business thrive and people of all ages can connect, create and celebrate.