Bostwick in Putnam County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Billy Graham

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, March 10, 2020

1. Billy Graham Marker

Inscription. William (Billy) Franklin Graham preached his first sermon on Easter Sunday night, March 28, 1947 at the Bostwick Baptist Church near Palatka, Florida. Graham was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 17, 1918. He was saved in a Mordecal Ham crusade when he was 16 years of age. He preached his first sermon at Bostwick Baptist Church while a student at Florida Bible Institute in Temple Terrace. He was baptized in Silver Lake in 1938 and ordained as a Southern Baptist preacher at nearby Peniel Church in 1939. Graham graduated from Wheaton College in 1943 and then serve as pastor of First Baptist Church of Western Springs, Illinois (1943-1946).

Billy Graham married Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007) in 1943 and they had five children: Virginia, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Nelson. Billy Graham became widely known as an evangelist after the Los Angeles evangelistic campaign in 1949 and formed the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950. Graham led in evangelistic crusades in cities around the world. Billy Graham preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to more people around the world than any other preacher who has ever lived. The lifetime audience of hearers including radio and television has exceeded two billion people.

Erected by Florida Baptist Historical Society.

Topics. This historical

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is March 28, 1937.

Location. 29° 46.304′ N, 81° 37.978′ W. Marker is in Bostwick, Florida, in Putnam County. It is on Tillman Street east of Cedar Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 131 Tillman Street, Bostwick FL 32007, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Bostwick School (within shouting distance of this marker); History of McCullough Creek (approx. 6.2 miles away); a different marker also named History of McCullough Creek (approx. 7.4 miles away); Central Academy School (approx. 8 miles away); Hastings Railroad (approx. 8.1 miles away); a different marker also named Hastings Railroad (approx. 8.1 miles away); Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial (approx. 8.2 miles away); Lt. J.K. (Kay) Larkin Memorial (approx. 8.2 miles away).

Billy Graham Marker and church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, March 10, 2020

2. Billy Graham Marker and church

Credits. This page was last revised on March 23, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,014 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 21, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.