DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along as best I can. There's a building standing in Kildare, Texas, that has a story worth slowing down for. It is, by the marker's own reckoning, one of the first buildings ever constructed in that town, and today it holds the distinction of being the oldest existing one still standing there.
That alone ought to get your attention. But wait until you hear how it came to be. The year was 1878, and two very different kinds of institution decided they had more in common than they had apart.
The Baptist Church and Jim's Bayou Lodge Number 491, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, joined hands and raised this building together. Jointly. One structure, two congregations of purpose, one under the grace of scripture and one under the compass and square.
The builders were Skillman and Bricker, and those men knew what they were doing when they picked their material. Heart cypress. Not just any wood.
Heart cypress, chosen specifically for its extreme durability. That choice was made in 1878, and the building has been in continuous use every single year since. Think on that for a moment.
The country was still finding its footing after Reconstruction, and Skillman and Bricker were out in Kildare selecting timber meant to outlast the century. It did. Now, the Baptist Church eventually moved on.
That happened in the nineteen-fifties, as congregations do, following their people to wherever the community grew. But the building did not follow. It stayed exactly where Skillman and Bricker put it.
It still serves as a Lodge Hall, and it still functions as a recreation facility. Two purposes, same walls, same heart cypress holding the roof up just like it always has. Some buildings get built to last.
This one proved it.
What the marker says
One of the first buildings constructed in Kildare; now the oldest existing one n town. Erected jointly 1878 by the Baptist Church and Jim's Bayou Lodge # 491 A.F. & A.M. Builders were Skillman and Bricker. In continuous use since 1878, structure is of heart cypress, selected for extreme durability. Although church moved in 1950's, building still serves as Lodge Hall and recreation facility. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 169