5 /5 Shahram Tabibzadegan: Founded in 1870, the First Union Free Mission Baptist Church was organized by a delegation representing the American Baptist Free Mission Society of Boston, an interracial antislavery group. First Union was the first church organized by the society in Texas. The Reverend Benjamin J. Hall, who served as pastor from 1878 to 1914, earned praise for his efforts to rebuild the sanctuary after the 1900 Storm and for enhancing the churchs role as mother church of the Texas State Convention.
The building is a Historic Landmark and a Galveston treasure.