DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to give it its due. Now, after the Civil War, the Cromwell family packed up and made their way to Elkhart, Anderson County. And when they got there, they looked around for a Baptist church — and found nothing.
So J.W. Cromwell did what a certain kind of person does when they see something missing from this world: he decided to build it himself. In April of 1886, Cromwell and six other charter members founded the Baptist Church of Elkhart.
Seven people. That's it. Seven people and a calling.
They brought in Reverend Julius Burk to serve as their first pastor, and they were off. Now, the story of this church's home — where it actually lived, where the people gathered — that's a story all its own. Back in 1876, before this congregation even had a name, a church home had been established on the Quarles plantation, meant to serve as both a school and a church.
It went by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South at the time. Then in 1897, land was sold to the Missionary Baptist Church, and a wooden structure was erected. Solid enough, you'd think.
But here's the thing about this congregation — they were not people who quit. Because that wooden structure burned in 1943. And when it burned, it took everything with it.
Every record the church had ever kept. Every name, every date, every note scratched down across decades of weddings and funerals and Sunday mornings. Gone.
The marker says it plainly, and plainly is the right way to say it: all of the church records were lost. So they moved. Found a home in the old Mercantile Building.
Kept going. And then — and I want you to appreciate the sheer stubbornness this congregation must have had — that building burned too. 1963. Two fires.
Two losses. Most outfits would've taken that as a sign. Not these folks.
They used the Elkhart High School auditorium for a spell, just long enough to catch their breath. Then they purchased land from the Funderburk family, built themselves a brand new structure, and on June 21, 1964, they dedicated it. A house that was theirs, built on ground that was theirs, by people who had refused, twice, to be finished.
Thirty-four pastors have served this congregation across its years. From 1886 to 1890 they belonged to the Neches River Association. From 1891 on, they've held membership in the Anderson County Baptist Association — later renamed the Saline Baptist Association — and they're still there.
Summer revivals. Weddings. Funerals.
Easter and Christmas services. Vacation Bible Schools. An annual Christmas food drive.
The ordinary and the sacred all wound together, the way they tend to be in a church that's been standin' in the same community for more than a century. The marker calls this church a beacon of light in the community. And when you know that the light kept burning through two fires, through lost records, through starting over not once but twice — well, that word beacon doesn't feel like flattery.
It feels exactly right.
What the marker says
After the Civil War, the Cromwell family moved to Elkhart in Anderson County. Finding no organized Baptist church in the community, J.W. Cromwell decided to organize a Baptist church. In April of 1886, Cromwell and six other charter members founded the Baptist Church of Elkhart and called on Reverend Julius Burk to serve as the first pastor. A church home was established in 1876 on the Quarles plantation for the purpose of a school and church, known at that time as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1897, land was sold to the Missionary Baptist Church and a wooden structure was erected. The church moved a third time when the wooden structure burned in 1943. Sadly, all of the church records were lost. The church then moved to the old Mercantile Building but it also burned in 1963. After briefly using the Elkhart High School auditorium, the church purchased land from the Funderburk family and built a new structure. The new church building was dedicated on June 21, 1964. Thirty-four pastors have served the congregation and the church is one of the oldest to be established inside the city. From 1886 to 1890, the church belonged to the Neches River Association and from 1891 to the present, it has held membership in the Anderson County Baptist Association, later renamed Saline Baptist Association. The church's history is marked by numerous church activities and community events including summer revivals, weddings, funerals, Easter and Christmas services, Vacation Bible Schools and an annual Christmas food drive. For more than a century, the church has been a beacon of light in the community. (2012)