1883-Present
Village of Judson
Gregg County, Texas 75660 TX
Today Judson, Texas, is an unincorporated community in Gregg County just north of Longview and connected to Longview by Spur 502 or Judson Road. The Judson community has its own zip code (75660) and their children attend the Longview Independent School District.
But historically the town developed around a Missionary Baptist Church (today First Baptist Church of Judson, TX, member of Baptist Missionary Association of America) which was established by 13 local Baptists in 1883 at a school known as Lawrenceville.
Founding member Georgia Whatley suggested the name Judson Missionary Baptist Church for a church she had attended in Lawrenceville, Alabama,[1] which was named in honor of Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), America’s first foreign missionary. In 1886, the Judson Missionary Baptist Church began to support mission work. Members began to plan for their own house of worship in 1891. Georgia and Hiram Whatley donated a plot of land, and the structure was erected in 1894. Baptismal services were conducted in the creek east of the church after the yearly summer revival had taken place. In the late 1890s H. A. Whatley gave one acre for a cemetery. Sunday School began in 1901, a ladies’ auxiliary was formed in 1902, and the Baptist Young People’s Union was organized at the Judson Church in 1924. A new church building was erected in 1935, and the church was able to hire its first full-time pastor in 1941. In 1952, a U. S. Post Office opened in the community, taking the name Judson. The membership, many of them descendants of the pioneers of this part of Gregg County, numbered more than 260 in 1998. The congregation continues to be active in mission work and in service to the community of Judson.[2]
By 1900 Public School District No. 2, Gregg County, was known as Judson. A post office operated at the community from 1890 until 1906. By 1896 the community had Methodist and Baptist churches, two sawmills, a cotton gin, a school, a shingle mill, a blacksmith, and an estimated population of 300. In the mid-1930’s Judson boasted two schools, two cemeteries, several stores and a sawmill. By the 1980s the community’s population had begun to grow again, spurred by the development of nearby Longview. In both 1990 and 2000 Judson, Texas had an estimated population of 650 and seven businesses.[3]
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[1] This is Henry County, Alabama, where there is an Adoniram Baptist Church (entry 1844-Present) and a Judson Baptist Church (1859-Present) still in existence today.
[2] https://fbcjudson.com/about/
[3] Christopher Long, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/judson-tx, 1952, 1995.