![]()
Marker Text
|
(All traces of the church and community are gone but their existence is remembered in farm landmarks: Tabernacle Draw, Tabernacle Trail, and Loafers Glory Trail.)
Site Of Loafer's Glory Apostolic Church
Loafer's Glory Apostolic Church in
the small community of Loafer's Glory was located one mile south
of Mount Gabriel (Pilot Knob) in the northwestern corner of
Williamson County. This frame structure was located off present
US 183 in the southwest corner of the intersection of County
Roads 202 and 207. Used primarily as a place of worship, it also
became a gathering place or community center, and was later
known as "The Shed. [1] [2] Like other families who settled in
this area, those at Loafer's Glory were for the most part devout
and God-fearing Protestants. And, like other early settlements
where education generally took priority over religion, the first
public building to be raised at Loafer's Glory was a school.
[2] Though no official records exist, Loafer's Glory school is
believed to have been the same as Concord school which was
relocated several times. [1] In 1908, Wesleyan Holiness preacher,
George Sutton, was asked to hold a revival meeting in the little
school house, at that time located on the Wilson Atwood farm.
[2]In his book, Sinner to Saint, Sam Sutton reports the success
of that gathering during which many found salvation and others
were alleged to have been cured of various afflictions. [3] This
meeting lead to the establishment of a Holiness church in the
community. [2] Services were held in the school
house until the building was destroyed by fire about a year
later. The congregation, later called Loafer's Glory Apostolic
Church, continued to meet in various homes in the community. A
tent meeting held in the summer of 1909 further solidified the
church. It was during this meeting conducted by Evangelist Fred Atwood was born in Arkansas on
December 19, 1861 and was married to Ida Wade on July 13, 1897
in Williamson County. He died September 15, 1955 and is buried
at Rose Lawn Cemetery in San Antonio. Fred R. Lohmann was born November 20,
1883 at Lohmann's Crossing in Travis County, grandson of
immigrant John Henry Lohmann for whom the site was named. John
Henry Lohmann, who was born 1799 in Hildesheim, Germany, is said
to have fought at the Battle of Waterloo. He first arrived in
Galveston in 1842 and, after a return trip to Germany, settled About 1910, a church building ("The
Shed") was erected on an acre of land donated by Jim Moore, who served
as leader of the church until his death in 1917. [2] [7] Nothing remains today of the old
frame structure. Born January 11, 1879 in Malvern,
Arkansas, Jim C. Moore came to Williamson County as a young boy
to work on his grandfather's farm. He married Lula Ida Perry on
October 8, 1899 in Williamson County. He died October 21, 1917
and is buried in the Perry Cemetery near Loafer's Glory. After Moore's death his son, Perry
Moore, served as speaker. Born August 2, 1900, Rev. Perry Moore
was a farmer and pastor of White Stone Church. He died November
7, 1987 and is buried in Bagdad Cemetery. [2] [7] Clinton H. Cornelieus (1857-1934),
George Sutton (1854-1942) and Waymon Dewitt (Dee) Taylor (1894 -
) were also among those who served as speakers. Membership in
the church totaled approximately fifty. [2] [8] Some families
represented were Wilson, Buck, Copland, Brown, Dycus, Perry,
Mather, Hamilton, Duncan, Bullion, Tom Shepard, Otho Glosson,
and Jasper Jackson families. [2] [8] The decades bridging the turn of the
century was an era of crusades, or "movements", as they were
called. The Holiness movement, basically Methodist in
background, began to emerge during the 1880s protesting what was
regarded as a growing "worldliness" of the more conventional
churches. The Holiness Church became the "people's" church at a
time when older denominations were becoming "middle class". This
was a period of missionaries and revivalism. After gaining
strength through the turn of the century, a declining response
to evangelistic campaigns came as families migrated to urban
areas in the early decades of the Considering its size, this small
revival church produced a remarkable number of pastors,
missionaries, evangelists and teachers. Besides those mentioned
above (Jim and Perry Moore, Clinton H. Cornelieus and George
Sutton) was Waymon Dewitt Taylor. Born at Montgomery, Louisiana
on 30 November 1894, he was among the early members of the
congregation of Loafer's Glory. Noted for his beautiful singing
voice, Rev. Taylor also composed over 90 gospel songs. On the
occasion of his ninety-fifth birthday in 1989, Mayor Kathryn
Whitmire of Houston signed a proclamation declaring that day
"The Reverand Waymon Dewitt Taylor Day". [10] Dee Taylor
commenced preaching in 1914 and was ordained three years later
as our country entered World War I. In 1992 Rev. Taylor was
cited as one of only four living Assemblies of God
ministers who were ordained by 1917. [11] Also cited was another
Loafer's Glory native, Sunshine Marshall Ball of San Antonio.
Born in Liberty Hill in 1896, Sunshine Marshall was orphaned at
an early age and was raised by her mother's cousin, Ida (Mrs.
Wilson) Atwood. She taught at Concord School before her marriage
to missionary Henry C. Ball, and was ordained on April 26, 1917.
With her husband, Mrs. Ball operated a Spanish language printing
press in New Braunfels, and opened a bible school near El Paso
for Spanish speaking Texans. [8] Mrs. Ball's cousin, Lee Roy Atwood,
son of Wilson and Ida Atwood, also served as a missionary in
Uruguay until his retirement. He was born at Loafer's Glory in
1910. [8] Loafer's Glory is typical of several
short-lived religious enclaves which populated western
Williamson County until they slowly disappeared in the early
twentieth century. Urbanization and time have left little or no
trace of these small communities, all but erasing from memory
the fervor of their camp meetings where devout and back-sliders
alike gathered from miles around to pray and sing and to receive
inspiration from eloquent sermons delivered by roving messengers
of the gospel. Loafer's Glory Apostolic Church is
representative of the movement which produced such men as Dwight
L. Moody, Billy Sunday and Billy Graham. An official Texas State Historical
Marker would be an appropriate way to commemorate this small
church which played an important role - not only in the lives of
those who lived in the area - but in the lives of countless
others throughout the world who were influenced by the religious
teachings of those who sprang from its congregation.
|