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The Round Timber community was named by an unknown early settler for a nearby round clump of oaks located near the Salt Fork of the Brazos River. The community became Baylor County's first permanent Anglo settlement when the Stevens, Mills and Hamby families arrived in 1874. By 1879, Round Timber was the home of a store, blacksmith shop and log school, and Alex M. Burnham was appointed as the first postmaster. A church, cotton gin and doctor's office were later added. The community was moved four miles northwest in the mid-1890s. By 1884, non-denominational Sunday services were held in Round Timber. The first written mention of a Baptist congregation was made in church minutes in September 1890. In 1898, the congregation changed its name from Post Oak to Round Timber Church and was later organized as a Missionary Baptist Church. On June 21, 1925, the church was officailly named Round Timber Baptist Church, a name that was retained until the church's closure in the early 1960s. Land was purchased in 1897 by trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a building project that included members of the community from all denominations produced a worhsip facility later that year. Although it is not known when the Methodists stopped holding services, the building was sold to the trusees of the Round Timber Baptist Church in 1934. Church records show consistent activity in support of missions, both foreign and local, as well as support of the Buckner Orphans Home. A community reunion has been held regularly since the 1950s for former citizens and descendants of the community and is now held annually at the Round Timber Cemetery. (2009) |
