DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Way back when Texas was still finding its footing, one of the earliest Protestant congregations in the whole state took root right here, founded in Austin's original colony. That's not a small claim.
That is a congregation with deep, deep roots. Now, every church needs a home, and this one got its first building on a lot near the Colorado River. The way the marker tells it, that lot was sold for exactly one dollar by a man named Isam Tooke, in 1848.
One dollar. The lot right next door was bought the following year, 1849, from a fellow named George W. Smith.
So for a dollar and change, a congregation planted itself on the banks of the Colorado. The pastor at that time was the Reverend J. E.
Kolbe, and he had a fine set of trustees backing him up: Eli Clapp, W. B. DeWees, Thomas Neavitt, Henry Terrell, I.
Tooke, and Asa Townsend. Six names standing behind one congregation, one pastor, and two lots near a river. Now, a congregation that lasts doesn't stay in one place forever.
In 1873, a second church was built just south of the railroad. The town had grown, the tracks had come through, and the church moved with it. Then came the present site.
A woman named Mrs. Sarah E. Stafford gave that land outright, and a new church rose on it, completed in July of 1897, under the Reverend S.
F. Chambers. From Austin's original colony to a dollar lot by the Colorado to a gift of land and a July dedication, this congregation kept building.
Some things in Texas, it turns out, are harder to move than a railroad.
What the marker says
One of the earliest Protestant congregations in Texas; founded in Austin's original colony. The first church building was near the Colorado, on a lot " sold" for $1.00 by Isam Tooke in 1848, and an adjoining lot bought in 1849 from George W. Smith. The Rev. J. E. Kolbe was then pastor; trustees were Eli Clapp, W. B. DeWees, Thomas Neavitt, Henry Terrell, I. Tooke, and Asa Townsend. In 1873, a second church was built just south of the railroad. Present site was given by Mrs. Sarah E. Stafford, and a new church was completed in July 1897, under the Rev. S. F. Chambers, pastor.