Old Independence Baptist Church, organized in 1839, functioned from its founding as one of the earliest organized Baptist congregations in Texas and served as a central religious institution for the town of Independence, a settlement that briefly ranked among the most influential communities in the young Republic and State of Texas. In its everyday historical use the church provided regular Baptist worship, preaching, and congregational governance for local farming and town families, and it played a formative role in the broader organization of Baptist church life in Texas, with members and leaders involved in founding statewide Baptist institutions. The congregation's function was closely intertwined with the town's other civic and educational institutions: Independence was home to the original campus of Baylor University before the school relocated to Waco, and the church served the same small community that included Margaret Lea Houston, wife of Sam Houston, who worshipped there and is buried in the associated cemetery. The church thus functioned not only as a house of worship but as a social and civic anchor for a town that briefly combined religious, educational, and political significance. Today Old Independence Baptist Church continues to function as an active congregation holding regular worship services, and its historic sanctuary and cemetery remain in use, preserved as a functioning church alongside their recognized status as a Texas historic site.