Local Baptists in Merriman met in private homes for many years between Merriman’s nomination as the county seat in 1874 and the organization of Merriman Baptist Church in 1892. Its charter members were Edmond Duncan, Fannie Duncan, Josie Duncan, Ozella Duncan, T.W. Duncan, Cles Hollaway, H.A. Inman, George Moss, C.J. Pugh, B.R. Williams, I.B. Williams, Virginia Williams and S. Williams, and J.L. Mays was called as the first pastor. The congregation erected a small church house in 1893 and a wood frame meeting house in 1903. After an oil boom reached the area in 1917, trustees of the 29-member church leased drilling rights on the property, and when the Derrick struck oil, the well earned $300 to $400 per day. The congregation kept a small amount for operating expenses and gave the rest to Baptist organizations and charities, at times contributing about $100,000 a year to domestic and foreign missions, the Buckner Orphans Home, Dallas and Houston sanitariums, Simmons College, Old Ministers Relief, Baptist Standard Publishing Company, Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, Christian education and other causes. In 1918, the noise of nearby oil drilling became disruptive to services, so the congregation built a tabernacle where services were held until 1922, when a new brick edifice was erected. In 1999, Merriman Baptist Church had 225 members, seven descended from the 1918 membership, and it continued to meet in the structure built 75 years earlier while serving the area.