Old Methodist Campmeeting
Bend, San Saba County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established in August 1858 by settlers who came armed against possible Indian attack. Preacher hung gun in tree, within reach; guard was posted around congregation's horses to prevent theft by Indians. However, no attack was ever reported here, though many terrible Indian depredations occurred nearby. Preacher in 1858 was a circuit rider, Rev. Tunnell. Jim Clark family came 10 miles in ox-drawn farm sled to first campmeeting. Charter members included families of Ezekiel Boyett, Fielding Dawson, Nay Gorman, John and Joab Harrell, Sr., Charles Harris, S. A. Houston, Dave Hillin, George Keeney, Dick Kolb, Milton Low, Bart Lucas, McCrea, David Matsler, Jim Means, W. W. Millican, Henry Ripple, Harmon Smelser, Tom Smith, Tom and Yancy Tate and Jim Ware. Coming between summer farm and ranch work and the autumn harvest, campmeeting was yearly season for spiritual and social enjoyment. Many marriages followed courtships that began here. Mrs. David Matsler donated original campsite. Mrs. E. E. West and R. H. Walton gave additional acreage. Lots were held by families--some for 6 generations. Present tabernacle is replacement for arbors made of brush and renewed year after year by settlers. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in August 1858 by settlers who came to worship carrying guns against possible Indian attack, this Methodist campmeeting saw the preacher hang his rifle in a tree within reach while guards watched the congregation's horses. Held between the summer's work and the fall harvest, the annual gathering became a season of both spiritual revival and social life, with many marriages beginning in courtships struck up here. Families held their lots for generations, and the present tabernacle replaces the brush arbors settlers once rebuilt each year.
Why it matters
The campmeeting captures frontier faith and community forged under the constant tension of the Texas Indian frontier, where even worship was conducted under arms.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In 1858 the hills and river valleys of San Saba County were the edge of Anglo-American settlement in Texas. Farm and ranch families had been pushing west across the state for years, into lands that were still homeland and hunting ground for the Comanche and other Native nations. The result was years of violence on both sides. Settlers feared raids on their homes and horses, and Native peoples watched their lands and ways of life shrink. For people living there, the danger was real and constant.
It was in this setting that frontier families built their religious life. The camp meeting was an American tradition dating to the revivals of the early 1800s. Families traveled long distances, camped for days, and gathered for preaching, singing, and prayer under open-air arbors. Methodist circuit riders, traveling preachers who covered huge territories on horseback, carried this tradition west with the frontier.
On a thinly settled frontier, with few churches and fewer towns, the camp meeting served as church, social calendar, and community gathering all at once. That was especially true in a place like this one, where people lived far apart and life was hard.
People & events
The first campmeeting here, in August 1858, did not look much like a quiet Sunday service. Settlers came armed. The preacher, a circuit rider the marker identifies as Rev. Tunnell, hung his gun in a tree within reach while he preached. Men were posted to guard the congregation's horses, which were valuable and a common target in raids. The marker notes that no attack was ever reported at the campground itself, though raids and violence occurred in the surrounding region.
Families went to real effort to get here. The Jim Clark family traveled ten miles on a farm sled pulled by oxen, a slow and bumpy trip made for worship and fellowship. The charter members came from more than twenty families, and the marker lists many of their names. Mrs. David Matsler donated the original campsite, and Mrs. E. E. West and R. H. Walton later added more land.
The campmeeting grew into a yearly tradition, timed for the break between summer farm and ranch work and the fall harvest. It was a season of revival and also a season of visiting, feasting, and courtship. Many couples who met here went on to marry. Families held their campsite lots for generations, some for six. Each year settlers rebuilt the brush arbors that shaded the worshippers, until a permanent tabernacle replaced them.
Its place in the American story
The camp meeting is one of the distinctive institutions of American religious life. It grew out of the revivals of the early nineteenth century and spread with the frontier, helping make Methodism one of the largest denominations in the country. Circuit riders like Rev. Tunnell were a big reason for that growth, bringing organized religion to scattered settlements that had no churches of their own.
This campground also reflects the larger and painful story of the Texas frontier. The westward push of settlement collided with Native nations defending their lands, and fear and violence marked daily life on both sides. The image of a preacher with his rifle hanging within reach captures that tension clearly.
This campmeeting's endurance is part of its importance, too. Traditions like this one, with the same families returning to the same ground over generations, show how frontier gatherings grew into lasting communities, some of which continue today.
If you visit
Look for the tabernacle. The present structure replaced the brush arbors that early settlers cut and rebuilt every year, and standing under it you can picture the crowds of families, the preaching, and the singing that filled these summer evenings. Imagine, too, a rifle hanging in a nearby tree and men keeping watch over the horses.
The area around Bend is quiet Hill Country ranch land along the Colorado River, with rolling hills, oaks, and a sense of how remote this place once was. It is easy to see why a gathering that brought scattered families together meant so much.
San Saba County makes a pleasant stop on a Hill Country road trip, with small towns, river scenery, and ranch roads well suited to slow driving. Treat the campground with respect. For many local families it is still a place of deep personal meaning, tied to generations of their own history.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Rev. Tunnell
Themes & tags
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