Martin Church of Goforth

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just as it stands. Way out in Hays County, in a cotton-producing stretch of Texas called the Goforth community, a church took root in 1874. It was started to serve the pioneer settlers of that place, and right from the beginning it had a generous spirit about it.

Worship services were conducted for members representing various denominations. Not one flock, not one creed, but many. That's the kind of church that earns a long life.

And this one did earn it, though not without a few chapters worth telling. For years, the facility was the heart of a community Christmas Eve celebration. Think about that.

One night a year, the whole community gathered under that roof, and the season was complete. Now, land at this site was deeded to the church in 1901 by Joseph Martin, who had been born in 1828 and would pass in 1905, and his wife Susan, born in 1842 and gone by 1907, along with T. J.

Warwick, born in 1839 and also passing in 1905, and his wife Matilda, born in 1837 and gone in 1904. Four people, one act of giving, and the church had its ground. The name Martin Church of Goforth carries those people forward.

Then 1945 came, and with the population of Goforth declined, the weekly services were discontinued. Just like that, the regular rhythm of Sunday mornings went quiet. But here is the part that lands: the church did not die.

Every June, an annual homecoming is held here. The people come back. That's not nothing.

That's the whole story, really.

What the marker says

This church was started in 1874 to serve the pioneer settlers of the cotton-producing area around the Goforth community. Worship services were conducted for members representing various denominations. Land at this site was deeded to the church in 1901 by Joseph Martin (1828-1905), his wife Susan (1842-1907), and T. J. (1839-1905) and Matilda Warwick (1837-1904). For years the facility was used for a community Christmas Eve celebration. Weekly services were discontinued in 1945 after the population of Goforth declined, but an annual homecoming is held here each June.