The Wiemers Oak

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Somewhere in Medina County, there stands a live oak. Not a young upstart, not a sapling somebody planted last decade.

An ancient oak. And if that tree could talk, friend, it would have some stories. But lucky for us, we've got the marker.

So let me tell it. Johann Wiemers, a German migrant, purchased this land and came here in 1854. Picture him arriving, sizing up the Texas hill country, and finding, already waiting for him, that oak.

Big, sprawling, generous with its shade. Now along came the Reverend John Schaper, and the Reverend was a man with a calling. He held services right there, under that canopy of branches, with the sky above and the roots below.

And something took hold. Johann Wiemers and his wife Aalke were converted to Methodism under that very tree. Not in a church, not behind stained glass.

Under an oak. From that conversion grew something lasting. Johann and Aalke became charter members of the New Fountain Methodist Church, and the first church building was erected near that same site.

The tree had served as the sanctuary before the sanctuary existed. But the oak wasn't done working. It also shaded the Wiemers and their neighbors when they gathered for reunions, and it watched over the whole operation when a mule-drawn press got put to work in molasses making.

Community worship, community celebration, community labor. All of it in the shade of the same tree. The land passed down through the generations, inherited by the Wiemers' descendants, who built a home near that ancient oak.

Same land. Same tree. Still standing in 1977 when the marker was set.

Some things in this world hold their ground, and some things shade everyone who comes to stand beneath them. That oak has been doing both for a long, long time.

What the marker says

The land on which this live oak stands was purchased by German migrant Johann Wiemers, who came here in 1854. The Rev. John Schaper held services under the tree and converted Johann and his wife Aalke to Methodism. They became charter members of the New Fountain Methodist Church. The first church building was erected near this site. This tree also shaded the Wiemers and their neighbors as they met for reunions or used a mule-drawn press in molasses making. The land was inherited by the Wiemers' descendants, who built a home near the ancient oak. (1977)