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GOD & TEXAS: Alligator Circuit


The weather is so bad that it’s only fit for crows and Methodist preachers! This colloquial saying from the 1850s described the zealous preachers who were known as circuit riders. With unabashed fervor these saddleback revivalists traveled from ranch to settlement carrying a Bible in one hand and a pistol in the other. Their mission was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a frontier that was rife with warfare and disease.

Some of those evangelists became well known for their ministry exploits. They preached under trees, in barns, by rivers, and in private homes. Many churches and schools were established due to the faithful circuit riding preacher and his selfless outreach to the often forgotten settlers of pioneer Texas.

Unfortunately, records indicate that many of these circuit riders died before the age of 30. Besides the spiritual hindrances of Satan, they struggled against marauding Indians, roadside bandits, and savage beasts. Most riders were penniless, poorly educated, and without close family. For many, their final burial place remains unknown. Yet, knowing the earthly risks, but seeking Heavenly rewards, the progress of the circuit riders increased until almost every Texas berg and settlement had a church.

One example of successful circuit riders was Heinrich Conrad Pluenneke. He immigrated from Germany to the Hill Country, and built a thriving ranching business. He soon realized that many settlers were needing spiritual enrichment. With other concerned friends like John O. Meusebach and Rev. C. A. Grote, Plunneke established the Hilda Methodist Church near Mason. Using this church as home base, Pluenneke began preaching on the Llano River Circuit that included Castell, Art, Simonsville, and Squaw Creek.

Another notable circuit rider was Rev. William C. Sparks. Riding the San Saba Circuit, Sparks would leave home on Monday morning with his faithful horse and Bible. He would preach each night at a different ranch, and then return home by Saturday evening. Wearing a swallow-tail coat and black hat, his circuit included communities in Callahan, Brown, and Midland counties.

One of the more challenging routes was nicknamed the ominous “Alligator Circuit"! Rev. Valerious C. Canon began ministry in Orange County in 1859. By 1871, Canon and Rev. Daniel Morse had established a ministry course that included the counties of Orange, Hardin, and Jefferson. Their circuit passed through dangerous marshes and swamps that abounded with snakes and alligators. To supplement his income, Morse would hunt alligators and sell their hides.

There are many more horseback riding parsons that have been forgotten here on earth. But as the noted poet Edward Everett Hale wrote in “The Nameless Saints:”

“What was his name? I do not know his name.

I only know he heard God's voice and came,

Brought all he had across the sea

To live and work for God and me;

No blaring trumpet sounded out his fame,

He lived—he died. I do not know his name.”

But God remembers every circuit riding preacher by name, and their reward shall be great. (Colossians 3:23-24)


For more inspirational reading please visit www.davidroseministries.com

To purchase the book GOD and TEXAS by David G. Rose please visit amazon.com

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