On Friday, June 13, 1936, in a tent just east of the county rock
building on the Gladewater road, the Calvary Baptist Church was
organized, with 13 charter members. Bros. Obie Barton and J. W. Harper
assisted in the organization. A church building was then erected on the
corner of Cass and Bledsoe Streets, with an auditorium 36 by 48 feet,
with four Sunday School class rooms, all of which are air conditioned. A
little later an adjoining lot was purchased on which was built a nice
five-room parsonage and a garage.
Mr. J. M. Hays set out shade trees all around the parsonage and church
building and kept them watered for several years until they became well
set. Some of them are large enough now to make a good shade. They will
serve as a living monument to the memory of J. M. Hays for many years to
come.
The membership of the Calvary Baptist Church at present is about 200.
Edd Spier, Obie Barton, Jack Bullard, H. D. Martin, and the present
pastor, Roy Alford, have served the church.