DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the San Marcos Primitive Baptist Church. Now, some congregations get their start in a grand building with stained glass and steeple bells. This one got its start in somebody's living room.
The year was 1853, and a man named George Daniels opened up his home — right there near the San Marcos River — and a church was born. Five charter members signed on that day: William Baker, Vashti Baker, Hannah Daniels, I. D.
Owen, and Sylvanna Daniels. Five people. That's it.
But five determined people with a river nearby and a pastor already standing in the parlor is apparently all you need. George Daniels served as that first pastor, guiding the congregation all the way through to 1862. Then a young man named James Milton Baker stepped up — and here's where the story gets interesting.
Baker was born in 1831, a native of Alabama, and he happened to be the son of two of those original five charter members, William and Vashti Baker. The whole family had made the journey from Alabama to Texas back in 1852, settled in the area the following year, and now here was their boy, taking the pulpit. James Milton Baker would hold that pulpit for forty-eight years.
Forty-eight years as minister of the San Marcos church. He didn't step away until 1910, the year he died. But somewhere in the middle of that long ministry, the river that gave this church its very name decided to remind everyone who was really in charge.
A flash flood — probably in 1869 or 1870, the record isn't certain — tore through and destroyed the first church building. Took the early records with it too. Gone.
Just like that. And yet the congregation kept meeting. No building, no records, no problem, apparently.
That is a particular kind of stubborn that Texas tends to produce. In 1886, J. M.
Baker himself deeded the land at this very site for the church and its cemetery. Then in 1930, the San Marcos Primitive Baptist Church picked up and moved to Luling — three miles east of here. But they didn't entirely let go of the old ground.
They kept coming back to meet here occasionally all the way until 1970. From a parlor in 1853, through a flood that swallowed the building whole, through nearly a century of faithful gatherin' — this site now stands as a reminder of the heritage of the Luling congregation. Some roots go so deep, even a flash flood can't wash them out.
What the marker says
The San Marcos Primitive Baptist Church, so named because of its proximity to the San Marcos River, was organized in 1853 at the home of George Daniels, who also served as the congregation's first pastor. The five charter members of the church were William Baker, Vashti Baker, Hannah Daniels, I. D. Owen, and Sylvanna Daniels. George Daniels served as pastor until 1862, when James Milton Baker (1831-1910) began his 48-year service as minister of the San Marcos church. A native of Alabama, Baker was the son of charter members William and Vashti Baker. The family had come from Alabama to Texas in 1852 and had settled in this area during the following year. The first church building and early records of the church were destroyed in a flash flood that probably occurred in 1869 or 1870, but the congregation continued to meet. In 1886, J. M. Baker deeded land at this site for the church and cemetery. In 1930 the San Marcos Primitive Baptist Church moved to Luling (3 mi. E) but continued to meet here occasionally until 1970. This historic site serves as reminder of the heritage of the Luling congregation. (1985)