DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to honor every word. Way back in the 1850s, settlers out in Hamilton County gathered themselves together and formed a congregation. No fancy building, no established circuit — just folks who decided that community and faith were worth building from scratch on the Texas frontier.
The first pastor we know by name didn't arrive until 1870. That was the Rev. J.
H. Perry, and by then the congregation already had some deep roots. Among those early families: the Steens — Isaac Steen's people — the Piersons of J.
Hogue Pierson, the Eidson family of J. A. Eidson, the Deans under Thomas Dean, and the Perrys of Dr.
George F. Perry. Good pioneer stock, every one of them.
Now, those pioneer ministers riding the Waco circuit — they weren't just dealing with muddy roads and hard weather. They were braving hostile Indians to reach this church. Let that sink in for a moment.
These were men of the cloth pushing into genuinely dangerous territory because they believed a congregation was worth reaching. And the dangers weren't abstract. In 1871, a band stole the horse of William Monk at Indian Creek.
Stole it clean. Left the man standing there with nothing but his boots and twelve miles of Texas between him and Brownwood. He walked every one of those miles.
That's the kind of country this church was planted in. For years, members worshipped in various places — wherever they could manage it — until around 1887, when they finally built a frame church right here on this very site. The congregation wasn't done building, though.
The present structure went up in 1924, and then in 1953 a wing for Sunday School was added. From a handful of settlers in the 1850s to a congregation still raising walls more than a century later — some roots just don't let go.
What the marker says
Congregation formed by local settlers in 1850s. First known pastor was the Rev. J. H. Perry, in 1870. Among early members were families of Isaac Steen, J. Hogue Pierson, J. A. Eidson, Thomas Dean, and Dr. George F. Perry. Pioneer ministers of the Waco circuit braved hostile Indians to serve this church. In 1871 a band stole the horse of William Monk at Indian Creek, forcing him to walk 12 miles to Brownwood. Members worshipped in various places, then built frame church on this site about 1887. Present structure was erected 1924; wing for Sunday School was added 1953.