Pilgrim's Rest Primitive Baptist Church
Athens, Henderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Constituted in Randolph County, Ala., Nov. 23, 1850; opened services here on Baptist Branch, Jan. 1851, during resting of 150 pilgrims in covered wagon caravan led by Samuel Tine Owen, a brother, John Bunyan Owen, and brother-in-law, K. K. Knight. Inspired by beauty of this locality to cancel planned trek to California gold fields, group settled and built a log cabin church here. Thomas Britton was their first pastor. Congregation disbanded shortly after relocating a mile south in 1892. From Pilgrim's Rest sprang several churches of this area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation was first constituted in Alabama in 1850, then carried west by a caravan of covered wagons led by Samuel Tine Owen. Camped on Baptist Branch in January 1851, the roughly 150 travelers were so taken with the beauty of the country that they abandoned their planned trek to the California gold fields and settled here, building a log cabin church. The mother congregation gave rise to several other area churches before disbanding after an 1892 move.
Why it matters
It captures a very American turning point—pilgrims bound for gold instead choosing to plant roots—and the way faith communities seeded the settlement of East Texas.
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Related people
- · Samuel Tine Owen
- · John Bunyan Owen
- · Thomas Britton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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