Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church
Markham, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church traces its history to November 1903, when a number of residents of Markham's "Tent City" later known as "Red Town," organized a congregation. Nine charter members were among those who worked on the canal, cattle ranches, rail lines and in the rice fields in the area. The Reverend Andrew Lee of Bay City was their first pastor. The congregation's first building, erected in 1909. was destroyed in a hurricane the same year. Immediately rebuilt, it was replaced by a new structure in 1923; that one was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961. The members acquired the former Ashby Memorial Baptist Church building and moved it from the Ashby community in 1962. Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church members continue in the traditions of their founders with programs of worship and service. (1999)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1903 a handful of Markham laborers—workers from the canals, cattle ranches, rail lines, and rice fields of a rough settlement known as 'Tent City' or 'Red Town'—organized Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. Their first sanctuary rose in 1909 only to be leveled by a hurricane that year, and later buildings met the same fate, including one lost to Hurricane Carla in 1961. Each time the congregation rebuilt or relocated, most recently by moving in a church from the Ashby community.
Why it matters
It preserves the story of a working-class coastal Texas congregation whose faith outlasted repeated hurricanes and the hard labor of the rice-and-rail boom.
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Related people
- · Rev. Andrew Lee
Related events
- · Hurricane Carla
Themes & tags
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