DUANE
Duane's take
The marker in front of the First Presbyterian Church of Cuero is what I'm going on here, so let me tell it straight from the stone. Now, if you want to talk about a congregation with roots, pull up a chair — or better yet, pull up under a live oak tree, because that's exactly where this story begins. July 8, 1849.
A group of settlers gathered at the home of Dr. Robert and Mary C. Trigg Peebles, and right there beneath the branches of a live oak, they founded the Live Oak Presbyterian Church — the very first Presbyterian congregation in all of De Witt County.
No building, no steeple, just open sky and the shade of a tree and folks who meant business. Leading the way was the Reverend William Cochran Blair, and the charter members were Elizabeth Smith Barnhill, Miles Squier Bennet, Mary C. Trigg Peebles, James Norman Smith, and Elizabeth H.
Morehead Smith. Six names. A county's worth of faith, right there at the start.
By 1851 the church had relocated to Clinton, three miles south, which was the De Witt County seat at the time. Then in 1855, a second Presbyterian church got organized up in Concrete, eleven miles north. And in 1878, with the county seat having shifted to the new town of Cuero, a third congregation took root there.
Three churches, three communities, all carrying that same thread. Now here's where the story takes a turn most people don't see coming — by 1883, all three of those congregations had merged into one, located right here in Cuero. And it didn't stop there.
Eventually, congregations from Indianola and Thomaston came into the fold as well. A church that started under a single live oak tree had quietly drawn in community after community over the years. The members housed themselves in a number of structures along the way, and through all of it they stayed woven into the life of the town around them.
So woven, in fact, that the street right out front of this church was renamed in honor of the Reverend Doctor William Angus McLeod, who served as minister here from 1919 until his death in 1947. A street named for a man. That's the kind of mark a congregation leaves when it's been at this since 1849 — and means it.
What the marker says
On July 8, 1849, a group of settlers gathered together under a live oak tree at the home of Dr. Robert and Mary C. Trigg Peebles to form the Live Oak Presbyterian Church, the first Presbyterian congregation in De Witt County. Led by the Rev. William Cochran Blair, the church's charter members included Elizabeth Smith Barnhill, Miles Squier Bennet, Mary C. Trigg Peebles, James Norman Smith, and Elizabeth H. Morehead Smith. In 1851 the church was relocated to Clinton (3 miles south), the De Witt county seat. In 1855 the county's second Presbyterian church was organized in Concrete (11 miles north), and in 1878 a third congregation began in the new county seat of Cuero. By 1883 the three churches had merged into one congregation located in Cuero. Eventually, congregations from Indianola and Thomaston also joined the Cuero church. A number of structures have housed the church over the years, and the members have maintained an active involvement in community affairs. The street in front of the church was renamed in honor of the Rev. Dr. William Angus McLeod, who served as minister here from 1919 until his death in 1947.