DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one ridin' it out to you. Now, Ireland is a long way from the high lonesome of Callahan County, Texas — but that's exactly the distance one Alexander Charles Garrett traveled, more or less, before all was said and done. Born in 1832, Garrett was a native of Ireland who came first to Canada as an Anglican Missionary.
Then San Francisco called. Then Omaha, Nebraska. The man had range, before range was even on his mind.
And in 1874, the Northern Missionary District of Texas sent him to Dallas as bishop — which sounds like a promotion until you hear what the job actually required. One hundred thousand square miles. That was his territory.
A hundred thousand square miles of Texas, and he was covering most of it on horseback or in horse-drawn vehicles. Let that settle in. This Irish-born, Canada-seasoned, San Francisco-and-Omaha-weathered bishop was out in the Texas wilderness, reins in hand, looking for souls.
Now, somewhere in Dallas, this bishop crossed paths with a man named Captain John Trent. Born in 1839 in South Carolina, Trent had moved to Texas from Tennessee in 1875 — brought his wife, his children, his relatives, the whole procession — and settled out here at a place called Tecumseh Peak. Built a log house.
Raised sheep and cattle. The kind of man who gets things done and doesn't ask permission from the landscape. When Captain Trent came in to Dallas to sell at market, he met Bishop Garrett.
And Garrett, being the sort of man who'd already crossed an ocean and half a continent, offered to come out and visit the captain at his ranch. Here is where the story gets just human enough to be worth tellin'. In his first effort, the Bishop lost his way.
A hundred thousand square miles, and not a single square mile of it offered up that homestead. You almost want to laugh, except you know what it means to be lost on horseback in country that doesn't care whether you're a bishop or a fence post. But he tried again.
The next year, Garrett found the place. And when word got out that the bishop had arrived at Tecumseh Peak, neighbors thronged in. On February 23, 1878, an Anglican service was held there — described, in the words recorded on this very marker, as happening "for the first time in these wild mountains." First time.
In those wild mountains. Garrett kept going after that. He eventually became presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
Not a bad finish for a man who once got lost looking for a log house in Callahan County. And in 1932 — the centennial of his birth — churchmen led by the Reverend Willis Gerhart of Abilene joined with Masonic bodies of Dallas and this area to erect a cross right here at this site, marking his visit of 1878. A cross in the wild mountains, for the man who finally found his way.
What the marker says
Alexander Charles Garrett (1832-1924), a native of Ireland, came to Canada as an Anglican Missionary. Later he moved to San Francisco, and then to Omaha, Nebraska. In 1874 he was sent to Dallas as bishop of the Northern Missionary District of Texas. Here he served an area of 100,000 square miles, traveling mostly on horseback or in horse-drawn vehicles. Captain John Trent, born 1839 in South Carolina, moved to Texas from Tennessee in 1875 with wife, children, and other relatives. The family built a log house here at Tecumseh Peak and raised sheep and cattle. Going to market in Dallas, Captain Trent met Bishop Garrett, who offered to visit him at his ranch. In a first effort the Bishop lost his way, but the next year found the homestead. Neighbors thronged in, and on February 23, 1878, an Anglican service was held "for the first time in these wild mountains." Later Bishop Garrett was presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. On the centennial of his birth (1932), churchmen, led by the Rev. Willis Gerhart of Abilene, joined with Masonic bodies of Dallas and this area in erecting the cross at this site to mark his visit of 1878. (1976)