Founding of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church (GABC): In his book, “The Gaston Story,” William R. Estep covers the first 100 years of this congregation. Estep notes that all but two of the charter members of GASB, initially called East Dallas Baptist Church, were former members of First Baptist Church of Dallas. Estep names the twenty-six charter members as: R. B. Godley, Mrs. R. B. Godley, Rev. S. J. Anderson, Mrs. S. J. Anderson, Ollie Anderson, Belle Anderson, Rev. W. A. Jarrel, Mrs. W. A. Jarrel, Rosa Humphreys, W. M. C. Hill, Lena Hill, R. L. Bryant, Nellie Bryant, J. E. Bullard, F. M. Gurley, Mrs. F. M. Gurley, E. M. Humphreys, A. J. Crowley, G. W. Crowley, M. E. Jones, John Brooks, Mrs. John Brooks, W. P. Anderson, Mrs. W. P. Anderson, Dr. A. F. Beddoe, Mrs. A. F. Beddoe. All but Dr. and Mrs. Beddoe “brought letters” with them from First Baptist Church. Dr. Estep does not give the date of the organizational meeting, but it is assumed to have been in 1887. The congregation first met in a schoolhouse on the property of W. H. Gaston.
The City of Dallas incorporated the former town of East Dallas in 1890. After this, the congregation adopted the name Washington Avenue Baptist Church. Around 1904, the congregation contracted to sell its property on Washington Avenue and purchased the lot at Gaston and Haskell. The name was changed once more to Gaston Avenue Baptist Church and the congregation moved into the structure there around 1906.
Pastors of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church 1887-1987:
| Tenure | Pastor |
| 1887-1888 | S. J. Anderson |
| 1888-1890 | William Howard |
| 1890-1891 | B. H. Crompton |
| 1891-1892 | T. S. Potts |
| 1893-1894 | A. H. Mitchell |
| 1894-1895 | J. M. P. Morrow |
| 1896-1898 | John D. Robnett |
| 1898-1902 | A. N. Hall |
| 1902-1905 | George W. McDaniel |
| 1905-1906 | W. A. Hamlett |
| 1907-1909 | J. W. Gillon |
| 1910-1912 | Austin Crouch |
| 1913-1915 | Henry Alford Porter |
| 1916-1919 | Powhatan W. James |
| 1919-1926 | Harold Major |
| 1927-1953 | W. Marshall Craig |
| 1954-1963 | Harold Basden |
| 1965-1969 | Lester B. Collins, Jr. |
| 1970-1972 | T. V. Farris |
| 1973-1977 | Charles L. Holland, Jr. |
| 1978-1981 | Paul Stripling |
| 1982-1986 | David Jackson |
| 1987- | Ed Brooks Bowles |
Source: William R. Estep, “The Gaston Story,” Hanson Printing, Inc, Fort Worth, Texas, 1987
Note 1: The Baptist Standard also credits an entity by the name of “Rock College” in the founding of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church and several other congregations.
Note 2: Peak membership of GABC was approximately 7,000 members, but through the years, attendance and membership declined. Around 1990 the church sold its property on Gaston Avenue and relocated once more to the 9000 block of Greenville Avenue in northeast Dallas. Since that time, the congregation changed its name to Gaston Oaks Baptist Church. The congregation has made other organizational changes as well.
By Mike Magers
