FORMER Agee Baptist Church - Hamilton County, TX
N 31° 47.896 W 097° 59.138
14R E 596023 N 3518522
The former Agee Baptist Church stands empty, currently hosting a large congregation of bees, at 15335 FM 1602 in rural Hamilton County, TX.
Waymark Code: WM13YP5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/14/2021
Views: 1
The closest settlement of any significant size is Fairy, about four miles to the north, while Hico is about fifteen miles in roughly the same direction. There is a sign attached to the porch, "Beware of Bees", and it is best to take that advice. There may be more than a few living here...
The Gazeteer of Hamilton County (see link, below) has a little bit of reading about the Agee community. While the article refers to Agee as "is" and not "was" suggests that, technically, it still exists, but there are no signs, and this church may be the last vestige of the community. It bears the name of Dr. William Absalom Agee, a doctor, dentist, merchant, and ordained minister who moved here with his wife, Narcissa Caroline, sometime in the 1890s. Their home was the original post office, with Mrs. Agee serving as postmistress, and there was a school here, which consolidated with the school in Fairy in 1936.
Dr. and Mrs. Agee, along with their daughter, were among just a handful of people who were the charter members of the church, establishing it on July 1, 1900. A generous donor provided land in 1901, and presumably, the sanctuary followed soon after. The congregation was active until 1992, when they disbanded, and for a few years, the building was used by a Spanish-speaking mission, Nueva Vision Iglesia. There is no indication as to when they moved on, but the sanctuary, while in decent condition, has boards on some windows and certainly could use some TLC.