Watauga Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Watauga Presbyterian Church. Now, before there was a Watauga anything out here in Tarrant County, there was a little congregation known as Willow Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Church. That name carries some weight; Willow Springs sounds like a place that knew how to hold onto something.

And hold on it did, right through the 1850s, when this part of Texas was still finding its footing. Then came the hard years. And when things settled enough to try again, a group of people got together in 1867 and reorganized what had come before.

Now, I want you to hear these names, because they are the story. William Carlton. Mary Carlton.

Julia Carlton. M.B. Donald.

William Evans. Marthia Evans. Samuel Evans.

Nancy Evans. Syrena Stowel. Sarah Henderson.

And then the Walkers (Margaret, Cornelia, James, and Drue). Fourteen names. Families, mostly.

People who showed up, signed on, and said we're doing this again. That reorganized congregation kept going, kept gathering, kept being what it was until 1885, when it took on a new name. Watauga Presbyterian Church.

Willow Springs became Watauga. Fourteen people became a legacy. That's how a church survives: not by accident, but by names worth remembering.

What the marker says

Founded as Willow Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1850s; reorganized 1867 by William, Mary, and Julia Carlton; M.B. Donald; William, Marthia, Samuel,and Nancy Evans; Syrena Stowel; Sarah Henderson; Margaret, Cornelia, James, and Drue Walker. Renamed in 1885.