Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church
Elkhart, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in Illinois in 1833 by Daniel Parker. Members moved to Texas. First meeting in Stephen F. Austin's Colony, January 20, 1834. Log church built December, 1839. Old graveyard adjoins. Present church fourth on same site. Continuous worship since 1834. Daniel Parker, Pastor 1833 - 1844.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in Illinois in 1833 by Elder Daniel Parker, this Predestinarian Baptist congregation moved with its members to Mexican Texas, holding its first meeting in Stephen F. Austin's Colony on January 20, 1834. A log church went up in December 1839, and the congregation claims continuous worship since 1834 — with the present building the fourth to stand on the site. Parker served as its pastor until 1844.
Why it matters
As one of the earliest organized churches in Anglo Texas, it marks the transplanting of Protestant congregational life into the future state.
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Related people
- · Daniel Parker
- · Stephen F. Austin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Baptist Church of Elkhart
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First United Methodist Church of Elkhart
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Elkhart Garden of Memories Cemetery
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Shaded by oak, pine, and crepe myrtle, this Elkhart burial ground took its first grave in 1887 but was not formally established until the Fuller family donated two acres in 1906. Among those resting here is E.V. Douthit — Civil War veteran, town postmaster, and co-owner of Elkhart's first store — alongside veterans of every American conflict from the Civil War to Desert Storm. A cemetery association organized in 1962 has cared for the grounds ever since.
Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church
Elkhart, TX
Elder Daniel Parker organized this Predestinarian Baptist congregation in Crawford County, Illinois, in 1833, then carried it whole into Mexican Texas — a clever way around the colony's restrictions on organizing new churches. Its first Texas meeting was held in Stephen F. Austin's Colony on January 20, 1834, and a log meetinghouse followed in 1839. It is remembered as the first Baptist church in Texas.