DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Elgin Christian Church has been standing — in one form or another — at the heart of Elgin, Bastrop County, for well over a hundred years, and the story of how it got there is something worth slowing down for. It starts in 1888, when the Reverend B.
B. Sanders came alongside the citizens of Elgin to organize this congregation. Many of those early members weren't even from Elgin proper — they came in from the surrounding communities, drawn together by something worth gathering for.
Now, they didn't have a building of their own right away, so they held their worship services in the Presbyterian church while they worked toward something permanent. And in 1892, they got it — a proper Christian church sanctuary, built and standing. You might think that's where the story settles in.
It does not. The 1900 Texas storm saw to that. That building was destroyed.
Gone. But here's the thing about this congregation — they built again, that very same year. Same year the storm took the first one.
And for a while, things held. Then 1915 came around, and another storm met that second building, and it met the same fate as the first. Two sanctuaries, two storms, and still this church did not quit.
In 1916 they erected a new building, and that one — with modifications along the way — served the congregation until 1965, when a new structure was finally completed. For over a century, this church has been a part of Elgin history. The storms came twice.
Twice they built back. That's not luck — that's a congregation that knew exactly why it was there.
What the marker says
The Rev. B. B. Sanders assisted citizens of Elgin in organizing this congregation in 1888. Many early members came from surrounding communities. Worship services were held in the Presbyterian church until the Christian church sanctuary was built in 1892. That building was destroyed in the 1900 Texas storm, and its successor, built that same year, met the same fate in a 1915 storm. A new building was erected in 1916 and, with modifications, served until a new structure was completed in 1965. For over a century, this church has been a part of Elgin history. (1990)