Anglo settlement of this area began in the 1840s, and the community of Whitehouse, which grew up around a white painted schoolhouse, began in the early 1850s. In September 1869, Elders J. A. Kindle and W. G. Caperton organized a church congregation called New Hope Church of Christ, Baptist, with about twenty-five charter members, and early worship services were held once a month. In 1887 New Hope Baptist Church purchased a plot of land and the congregation built a one-room sanctuary nestled in a pine grove. After the railroad came through Whitehouse in the 1870s and a central business district began to grow, the church was relocated to the new townsite. A white frame building was erected in 1901, and the name was changed to Whitehouse Baptist Church. In 1923 the church was relocated again to a site on East Main Street and was also renamed First Baptist Church. A new church facility was erected in 1959, and continued growth led to construction of the present sanctuary in 1980. Part of Smith County history for more than a century, First Baptist Church continues to serve its members and the community.