Center Point Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)--Early Pastors

I am currently pulling together material to apply for an historic marker for the 1891 Center Point Christian Church, said to have been organized in 1879.  While I have no reason to doubt it, I would like to document that claim as well as verify the names and dates of service of the early pastors.  Today I'm going to share some of my research with you in the hopes some of my readers can help.  In the great tradition of "crowdsourcing" I've already had help from several parties from the church and Kerr Regional History Center, but we can use more.

An undated handwritten history of the church states that it was established in 1879 by Greenleaf Surber.  I have searched through the U.S. Federal Censuses from 1850 to 1940 and can find no one named Greenleaf Surber.  There are men named Greenleaf (think of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier), but none of them have a surname resembling Surber.

On June 20, 1883, one G. L. Surber officiated at the wedding of Mary Mattie Caldwell and John R. Storms.  This is doubtless the man we seek.  It seems to be the only Kerr County wedding he officiated at.
I think the "G. L." stands for Green Lee Surber (or possibly Greenville Lee), not Greenleaf Surber.
G. L. Surber was born near Somerset, Kentucky, August 13, 1837, to Adam and Jemima Mercer Surber. Jemima died 1875 and Adam 1879 in Center Point.  They are buried in Center Point Cemetery.
At the age of 15 G. L. became a Christian and began to prepare for ministry.  He was educated at Transylvania University.  After ordination he went as a missionary to Australia, serving six years near Melbourne.  In 1872 he returned to America and took a pastorship in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.  There he met his wife, Jennie Givens.  Their two children,  Hattie and Lee Elwood, were born in Kentucky, Hattie in Sept. 1876, and Lee in Nov. 1878.  I believe the reason he went to Texas was the death of his father. Adam Surber, along with much of his extended family, had left Kentucky for Texas in 1873.  Adam died March 3, 1879, and was buried in the Center Point Cemetery.  I think G. L. came to help take care of things and ended up staying a while, seeing a need for a church in Center Point and elsewhere in Texas.  According to his obituary, "He labored six years in Texas and strengthened the cause both at Waco and Dallas building a church at the latter place."  I found in a Google book snippet that he was preaching at a church in Dallas in 1881.  Whether it was a regular pulpit or a special event I can't tell. We do know he was in Texas in 1879 or early1880 when photos was taken of children Hattie and Lee (which can be seen on ancestry.com), and when he performed the wedding of Mary Mattie Caldwell and John R. Storms in 1883. My best guess is that he was in Texas from 1879 to 1885.

From Texas he returned to Harrodsburg, Kentucky (for about three years), then spent eight years in Lexington.  From there he went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he superintended the Southern Christian College for two years. In 1898 he, his wife, and children moved to Payette, Idaho, where he spent the rest of his life.

Based on the evidence, I think it is very probable that G. L. Surber established (or re-established) the Center Point Church.  He had a missionary heart and had established other churches.  I don't, however, think he was here full time. Or if he was, he didn't stay long.

There is then a twenty year gap. They may have been served by lay preachers.

The next pastor on record is Kilby Ferguson in 1904. The Christian Evangelist newspaper for July 7, 1904 reported "Kilby Ferguson is now the minister of the church at Centerpoint, Kerr Co., Texas, having removed from Louisiana."  And in the Oct 29, 1904, Kerrville Mountain Sun was the following item: "Elder Kilby Ferguson, minister of the Christian Church at Center Point, called on our office Monday.  Mr. Ferguson is to preach in Kerrville hereafter on each fourth Sunday at the Union Church. He preached here last Sunday and is evidently hopeful."

 After that was Brother Jonathan M. Streeter/Streater/Streator, who served from 1905 to 1914.  In the July 15, 1905, Mountain Sun he was referred to as the new pastor of the Christian church, and in the July 29 edition he was described as "an earnest and forceful talker and is sustaining his former reputation as one of the ablest preachers of West Virginia".

Rev. V. R. Stapp is the next preacher I find record of--in 1915.  I don't know how long he served.  After that was Brother Perry E. Hawkins,  who was the pastor at the Kerrville Church beginning in June 1924 but also "filled his regular appointment at Center Point" from June 1924-1926, possible longer; T. W. Storms 1929-?; and H. Ellis Thomas, 1938. Beginning in 1940 the records are much more complete.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can add to the record of these early pastors.
Again, their names and probable dates of service are:
G. L. Surber 1879-1885 (on and off)
?? 1885-1903
Kilby Ferguson, 1904-05
Jonathan M. Streetor, 1905-1914
R. V. Stapp  1915-??
Perry E. Hawkins, 1924-26 (possibly longer)
T. W. Storms 1929-??
H. Ellis Thomas 1938 (possibly later, but no later than 1939)

"Texas Treasure" Business Award

The Kerr County Historical Commission is compiling a list of businesses in Kerr County that qualify for the "Historic Business--Texas Treasure" award.
This award recognizes Texas businesses "that have provided employment opportunities and support to the state's economy for at least 50 years."
http://www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/projects-and-programs/texas-treasure-business-award

The full requirements can be found at the above link, but in general, businesses must have been in continuous for-profit operation in Texas for at least 50 years and must continue to operate the same or very similar business.  The business may have changed hands.  Businesses that have stayed in the same family or have operated from the same place for more than 50 years get special recognition. 

The business gets an attractive certificate to hang on the wall--which it agrees to display. 

Mosty Brothers Nursery, Center Point, est. 1897, is the first business in Kerr County to receive this award.

Here is a list of other for-profit businesses based in Kerr County that appear to qualify.  There may be more. City is Kerrville unless otherwise indicated.

Have been in continuous for-profit operation in Texas for at least 50 years. 

Continue to operate the same or a very similar type of business as it did at least 50 years ago.

Have a continuous record of employment for at least the past 50 years.

Continue to operate as an independent, for-profit business (i.e., it cannot be operating as a subsidiary of or have been absorbed into another business)

Maintain a good business relationship with the state.

- See more at: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/preserve/projects-and-programs/texas-treasure-business-award#sthash.wyOqJbeu.dpuf

• FIRST Insurance Agency of the Hill Country, 1890.
• T. J. Moore Lumber Yard, Ingram, 1892. 
• Kerrville Daily Times, 1910.
• Sanchez Barber Shop, 1911.
• Garrett Insurance,  1918.
• Grimes Funeral Chapel, 1920.
• Camp Rio Vista, Hunt, 1921.
• Camp Stewart, Hunt, 1924.
• Kerr County Abstract Company, 1924.
• Camp Waldemar, Hunt, 1926.
• Camp Mystic, Hunt, 1926.
• Camp La Junta, Hunt, 1928.
• Camp Waltonia, Hunt, 1928.
• Crider's, Hunt, 1926.
• Mosty's Garage 1926. 
• Kerrville Bus Company, 1929. 
• R.C. McBryde Oil, by 1931. 
• Fidelity Abstract and Title,  1936.
• Heart of the Hills Taxidermy,  1937. 
• Kickapoo Kamp, 1943.
• Del Norte Restaurant, 1946.
• The Hunt Store, Hunt, 1946. 
• Mooney Aircraft, 1946.
• Heart O' the Hills Camp, Hunt, 1949. 
• Hill Country Telephone Cooperative, Ingram. 1951.
• Hester Window Coverings, 1951.
• Bernhard's Meat Processing and Market, Ingram,  1952.
• Hill Country Affordable Motors,  1954.
• Hunt-Ingram Gas Company, Ingram, 1955.
• The Rose Shop, 1955.
• Inn of the Hills, 1963.
• Herring Printing, 1964.

If you have others to add to this list, you can comment below or contact me at my blog email address, dgaudier at gmail.com, and I will update this list.

Center Point Depot

1939.  Kerr County Historical Commission Collection.

Date unknown.

2013

The peripatetic 1877 San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad Depot of Center Point, has returned to Center Point from Boerne and is being restored.  It is now in a historic park on San Antonio Street.

The depot has not just seen a lot of travelers, it has also done a lot of traveling.  It isn't unusual for old buildings in Kerr County to be moved to new spots.  It is unusual for one to move multiple times.

The depot was closed after the last train ran in 1971. A story in the September 1, 2012, Kerrville Daily Times, about the return of the depot to Center Point said that in 1984 it was moved to Kerrville where it then served as a private home for almost a decade. 

C.D. Peterson was the one received a permit to move the depot to Kerrville in October 1984. While in Kerrville it was located near the corner of Texas 16 North and Loop 534. A few years later it was sold again and moved to Boerne where it housed offices for a few years. The Center Point Historical Preservation Association raised the money to move the depot back to Center Point in 2012, and is now raising money to complete restoration of the building.

The January 24, 1995, Daily Times reported on an effort by the Comfort Area Development Board to move the depot to that community. The project was apparently unsuccessful. That story called this the second depot building in Center Point.

The December 5, 1984, Kerrville Mountain Sun recounted the memories of Fred Toler, who was a railway agent at Center Point in 1934-35, then again from 1937 for a while. He tells this story:

One day Mr. Holchak [the Southern Pacific agent in Kerrville] told me that the agent's job at Center Point was coming open and he thought I could handle the job. ... Myrtle Elizabeth Baker and I ... decided this was our chance to get married.

... Myrtle and I went down to Center Point and looked things over and as we would be flat broke until we received our first pay check we decided to move into a large room connected to the depot.

Myrtle's mother gave us a table and two chairs, my mother contributed a bed and mattress, the kinfolks gave us a shower of household goods.  

We had no honeymoon as we had to go to work the day after [we were married].

The Center Point job paid $50 per month, which looked like a small fortune to us.

The first night we stayed in the depot we had just laid down when we heard a commotion and looking out the window we saw about fifty people coming towards the depot.

We were both somewhat uneasy, but I put my clothes on and went out to see what was up.  A man named Frank Lane headed the group and he told me that it was customary whenever anyone got married in the town to "chiveree" them.

Mr. Lane explained that it was the town custom to "serenade" newly couples and that we were supposed to furnish refreshments.  They had brought along a fiddle and guitar player and we would have a dance.

The only refreshments we had was coffee, but they didn't seem to mind.  So the music was set upon the large outside unloading platform and the dance when on until about midnight when everyone went home.

... About the time we received our first check the Superintendent of the S.P. dropped off a train one day and told us we would have to move out of the Depot and rent a house.  

We rented one-half of a duplex for $12 a month.  It was one of the few houses in town that had inside plumbing." 

A true luxury!

After about a year he was transferred to Fredericksburg Junction, about five miles below Comfort, the first of several transfers in his railroad career. (Fredericksburg Junction should not be confused with Frederickburg. It sat in the middle of nowhere and was the spot where the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway connected with the S.A.&A.P.)

Mosty Brothers Nursery, Center Point

These photos were taken at the Mosty Brothers Nursery in Center Point.  Mosty Brothers Nursery started in Kerrville in 1897.  In 1908 a second location was added in Center Point.  The Kerrville location, primarily a retail operation, closed in 1985. The Center Point location is a wholesale business.

Water tank. Concrete base is original.

The large, two-story residence at the front of the property was built in 1927 in a pecan orchard at a final cost of about $12,000. The architect and contractor was W. W. Miller of Kerrville.  An elevated water tank, still in use, has been there since the earliest days.  There are smaller post-World War II residences; and greenhouses on the property date back more than 60 years. The business has been in continuous operation by one family for more than a century. During that time the Mostys have been innovators in developing new plant varieties and leaders in their industry’s trade and professional organizations. In 1936 Mosty Brothers Nurseries of Kerrville and Center Point won the contract to supply the landscaping used at the Texas Centennial Central Exposition grounds. To fulfill the contract they shipped six railway carloads and ten truck loads of shrubbery to Dallas. The landscaping featured native shrubs. Today this site is Fair Park, home of the State Fair of Texas.

 In the spring of 2013, the business was awarded a “Texas Treasures Business Award” from the Texas Historical Commission for businesses existing for more than 50 years.

Greenhouses.  Hail storms destroyed the original glass roofs years ago.

The Boys from Center Point

Three of the nineteen Kerr County World War I war dead were from Center Point.  They were Jay Lynzy Cowden, Albert Feller, and Jefferson Davis Leavell. Their stories are told here.

Jay Cowden was born February 6, 1896, to Washington P. and Mary Jane Green Cowden, possibly in Wilbarger County, and died January 17, 1918, in France. His body was repatriated and buried in the Center Point Cemetery. 
His four brothers also served. 
Jay Cowden was a Private First Class, Company E, 141 Infantry, 36 Division of the U. S. Army.

This interesting item appeared in the January 22, 1942, Kerrville Mountain Sun, "The cottage owned by Mrs. P. W. Rogers on Jay Cowden Street is being remodeled and decorated. It will be occupied by Mr.  and Mrs. Elmo Moss."
I wonder where Jay Cowden Street was.
************

Albert Feller was born February 7, 1896, in Killeen, to Hugo and Laura Feller and died September 29, 1918, in an infirmary in France.  Before the war he was a farm hand for Fred Vaughn at Center Point.
He was a member of Co. D,  the 163rd Infantry, U.S. Army.

On January 13, 1922, the Kerrville Mountain Sun reported "The remains of Albert Feller arrived Tuesday from France and interment took place Wednesday afternoon at the Holloman[sic] burial ground, two and a half miles south of Kerrville.  Services were conducted by Rev. J. Grady Timmons, and several of the American Legion attended from Kerrville as well as a number of others.  Albert Feller was born February 7th, 1896, and died in France September 29th, 1918.  His death was caused by illness."
*************

Jefferson Davis Leavell was born November 16, 1895, in Center Point to William Tighe and Piety Catherine Page Leavell.  He died in France December 1, 1918.  He seems to have moved around a bit.  In 1910 he was living with his family on Main Street in Kerrville. By the time he registered for the draft he was living in Ozona and working for James Mitchell as a ranch laborer. His name did not appear in the earliest lists of Kerr County war dead.
The September 9, 1920, Kerrville Mountain Sun reported "The remains of Pvt. Jeff Leavell were brought from France for burial in Glen Rest Cemetery.  The body arrived last Friday afternoon, accompanied by a military escort and interment was made Saturday at 4 p.m. following a ??? [unclear] at the residence of J. D. Leavell. "

224 FM 480, Center Point

FM 480 is also known as San Antonio Street.
According to the December 23, 1905, Kerrville Mountain Sun, M. A. Calloway, "a former resident of this place" had just purchased a lot on San Antonio Street from Mr. James Crotty and planned to begin "the erection at once of a stone business house thereon".  I was fascinated to read in Gerald Witt's 1986 book The History of Eastern Kerr County, Texas that "[t]he walls are fifteen inches thick and and are made of rocks, mortar, and caliche sand.  Apparently, construction forms were filled with a rock and mortar mix to build the walls."
If this was indeed a cast-in-place concrete building, it was not a common technique at the time.

The book goes on to say:

This building has been used as a store at various times and some people remember attending movies there.  For years it was the warehouse of the Bandera Farmers and Ranchmen's association and was filled with wool and mohair. In 1970 Connie Woodell restored the building and opened Valley Western Store.

In 1973 Connie and Fred Woodell sold the property to Lloyd C. Woodbury who ran his taxidermy business here until moving to Ingram in 1978. In 1981 Dick and Jeannine Tuma moved their business, Mesa Bronze Foundry, here.  The Tumas no longer own the business, but it is still functioning as a bronze foundry at this location.

Center Point School

These photos are from the July 13, 2013, dedication of an historical marker for the Center Point School at 216 China Street, Center Point.  This was the seventh historical marker in Center Point.
The school building, of native limestone, was designed by San Antonio architect Alfred Giles and built by J. V. Oppert. It opened for classes in the autumn of 1911 and has served the students of Center Point ever since.
Because of the small enrollment, for many years teachers taught combined classes.  First and second grade shared one classroom on the first floor, third and fourth the other. Fifth and sixth shared a classroom over the first and second grace, and seventh and eight were above the third and fourth grade classroom.  The high school students were in the central section upstairs.
Sibyl S., a 1931 graduate, remembered there was once a barn behind the school where students who rode horses or carriages to school would tie up their animals during the day.  The students would go out at lunch to feed them oats and check on the animals.
Later the barn was use to store athletic equipment before being torn down.

Architect Alfred Giles was well-known throughout Texas. He is responsible for about 90 buildings across the state.  Some of the other Kerr County buildings he designed were the Weston Building, the 1882 Schreiner Store, the Schreiner Mansion, and possibly the Favorite Saloon.

In time he purchased a large ranch in the area and named it Hillingdon after the town where he was born near London, England.

I was interested to learn that Center Point has a historical museum! Located in a small house across from the historic school building, its primary focus is historic school materials--athletic awards, yearbooks, etc.  However, there are three dioramas featuring Center Point.  Once shows the fairground, one the rail depot, and one the historic downtown along San Antonio Street.

It is amazing that a small unincorporated community can pull together a museum when the larger Kerr County community hasn't.

221 FM 480, Center Point

This building at 221 FM 480  (San Antonio Street), Center Point, was erected in 1929 by Arno Schwethelm. It adjoins the Center Point Mercantile Building.
In July 1928, Arno Schwethelm purchased eight lots on San Antonio Street belonging to the bankrupt Center Point Mercantile.  According to the July 12, 1928,  Kerrville Mountain Sun the properties included "the former Center Point Mercantile Co., the Drug Store, Post Office, Motion Picture Theatre, Oil House and several other minor concerns.  Mr. Schwethelm stated that for the present he would not actively manage any of these interests but lease the properties."
A few months later, on January 17, 1929, the newspaper reported that Schwethelm was "planning to tear away the old drug store building and replace it with a fireproof structure."
It was in late April of that year that Vernon Powell, who had purchased the Center Point butcher shop, announced he was moving to the new building just being finished by Arno Schwethelm on "Main Street", i.e. this building.  His was the first business in the building, occupying one section.  I do not know what business occupied the other part of the building.  Any information about the early history of this building is welcome.

Center Point Mercantile

Date unknown.  Kerr County Historical Commission Collection.

The Center Point Mercantile on San Antonio Street was created in 1902 when  J. W. Nelson,  James L. McElroy, and C. W. Howland combined their businesses. The Kerrville Mountain Sun of February 22, 1902 reported the organization of the business this way:  "The Centre Point Mercantile and Milling Company have elected officers as follows:  A. Reese, president; W. H. Witt, vice-president; J. W. Nelson, general manager; J. L. McElroy, secretary-treasurer.  They have capitalized at $60,000, and applied for a charter.  That will combine two principal business houses here, and the flour mill under one management.  Also the two lumber yards.
Surely, this is the age of combinations, for here comes the Centre Point co-operative and mercantile association who have got their charter, and capitalized at $10,000.  The co-operative company is composed of about 70 farmers and prominent men of the neighborhood.  Both companies expect to open up on March 1st."

Located on the corner of Kelly and San Antonio Streets, the store offered groceries, dry goods, ladies ready-to-wear, shoes, school supplies, feed, lumber, farm equipment, and hardware.  It prospered for many years before going bankrupt in April 1928. A. C. Schwethelm of Comfort purchased the real estate, and in October 1928, W. J. Work moved his dry good and groceries to the Center Point Mercantile, the first of several subsequent retailers in this building.

"The Bank", Center Point

This rock building on San Antonio Street was constructed for the First National Bank of Center Point, which opened for business on the first floor of this building in March 1902. The Rising Star Masonic Lodge 429 rented the upper floor.  H. M. Burney was the bank president.
In 1904 another bank, the Guadalupe Valley Trust Company, later Guadalupe Valley Bank, organized in Center Point. In 1908 the Guadalupe Valley Bank took over the operations of the First National Bank.   There may have been some relationship between the First National and the Guadalupe Valley banks from the very beginning since they had overlapping officers.
In 1935, during the Depression, the Guadalupe Valley Bank underwent voluntary liquidation.
After the liquidation, the building was purchased on June 7, 1938, by the Rising Star Masonic Lodge 429.  The lower floor of the building then served as the post office for many years.

Woolls Building, Center Point

The Woolls Building, located on San Antonio Street in Center Point, is believed to be the oldest building in Center Point.
G. W. Woolls purchased the property in 1873. The building was erected sometime between then and 1875 by Sam H. Wellborn.  Woolls operated a general store here until his death in 1877.  His wife Kate continued the business and also served as postmistress.  The upper story housed the Rising Star Masonic Lodge 429.
In 1880, James Sellers and George Leigh bought the merchandise from Kate Woolls and together continued to operated the store until 1882, when Leigh became manager of the Stoneleigh Ranch and sold his share to Sellers.  In 1895 Sellers sold the store to Wm. A. Cocke.
A fire on Christmas night in 1900 destroyed the entire stock of the store and all the property of the Masonic lodge on the the second floor. The sturdy rock walls survived. The building was renovated and purchased by the Farmers Mercantile Cooperative Association in 1902.  Henry Noll, who later opened H. Noll Stock Company in Kerrville, was the general manager.  When the business opened in March, the advertisements said "it is not a money making, but a money saving institution ... net profits are returned to patrons as a dividend on their purchases." Every patron shared in the profits, members receiving full dividends, non-members receive half dividends on purchases.  It also advertised itself as an investment company, issuing interest bearing certificates which were redeemable on short notice.
It truly was not a money-making institution. The store freely extended credit to residents of Center Point.  It went bankrupt in 1910 and was forced to close.
Henry Noll took this concept to Kerrville and opened H. Noll Stock Co., another cooperative, in 1906. That business lasted until the death of the owner some 20 years later.

The Woolls Building was remodeled by John T. Young about 1940, and in August, 1946, Curtis and Lucille Eden moved their business, Edens Implement Company, from the Pafford building here.  In 1980, when Curtis Edens retired, he sold the  business to James T. Crow, who operated it as Edens Ford Tractors and later also moved from the building.  In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Today it is a special event facility.