Naruna Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Naruna Baptist Church in Burnet County. Settlers made their way into the Naruna area as early as the 1840s, and the town got its name from its very first postmaster, a man named William M. Spitler, who had come to Texas aboard a riverboat called the Naruna.

Now that's the kind of detail that sticks with you. A man arrives by river, steps off the boat, and eventually puts his mark on a place by naming it after the very vessel that carried him there. The marker doesn't editorialize on that, and neither will I, but you have to appreciate the poetry of it.

Come the summer of 1877, the residents of the area gathered themselves together and formed Providence Baptist Church, doing so under the leadership of a man named Ira Reese. The congregation wasted no time getting to work. They called their first minister the very next year, in 1878, and before long they had affiliated with the Austin Baptist Association, putting down roots in the wider community of faith.

For baptisms, members went down to Deer Creek, which I imagine made for some memorable Sunday mornings. In the early 1890s they built themselves a sanctuary, and in the way of small towns where resources are shared and neighbors are neighbors, they shared that space with the local Masons. Then in 1932, the congregation took the name it carries today, Naruna Baptist Church.

Now, the town itself had seen harder days by then. When the railroad came through the region and bypassed Naruna, the local population declined. That's a story repeated all across Texas, towns that withered when the tracks went somewhere else.

But the church, it kept going. Worship and charity work, serving its members right on through. Some things outlast the railroad.

What the marker says

Naruna Baptist Church Settlers came to the Naruna area as early as the 1840s, and the town was named by its first postmaster, William M. Spitler, who came to Texas on the riverboat Naruna. Residents formed Providence Baptist Church in July 1877 under the leadership of Ira Reese. The congregation called its first minister in 1878 and later became part of Austin Baptist Association. Members held baptisms in Deer Creek and built a sanctuary in the early 1890s, sharing space with local Masons. The congregation changed its name to Naruna Baptist Church in 1932. Local population declined after the railroad bypassed the town, but the church continues to serve members through worship and charity work. (2003)