L. L. Pruitt

Services for Rev. L. L. Pruitt, 94, of Henderson, will be held Tuesday, July 9, 1991 2 p.m. at West Main Baptist Church with the Revs. Kenneth Stone, Duane Pringle and Raymond Bugg officiating. Interment will be in Long (sic) Star Cemetery, Nacogdoches, under the direction of Bryan Funeral Home.

Rev. Pruitt died Sunday, July 7, 1991, at 8:35 in a Henderson nursing home after a lengthy illness. He was born Sept. 5, 1896 in Laneville. He attended Jacksonville Baptist College, was a member and 65-year minister of Baptist churches. Rev. Pruitt founded the West Main Baptist Church and pastored there for 12 years. He also pastored churches in Texas and Louisiana for 55 years. He is preceded in death by his wife Maggie Pruitt, who died Aug. 23, 1980. They were married for 60 years.

Excerpt from Henderson Daily News, July 8, 1991

* West Main Baptist Church was organized circa 1945

First Baptist, Henderson

According to its historical marker, First Baptist Church in Henderson: 

Begun in 1845 by the Rev. Lemuel Herrin (d. 1852), pioneer missionary Baptist minister from Tennessee, this church was reorganized in 1850 by Elders John B. Renfro and J. O. Walker, and the Rev. Jesse Witt, who served as the first pastor. Total membership in 1850 was 21. In its early years, the fellowship shared a meeting place with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The present church building was dedicated April 25, 1954. At least three other congregations have been sponsored by this one. The membership has grown steadily in recent years to the current (1976) total of over 1800.