GOD & TEXAS: Marcelina Texas

The town is gone but the church is still there. Every Sunday morning the Marcelina Baptist Church still offers Sunday School and Worship. The congregation comes from miles around to follow in the steps of their early Texas forefathers who placed eternal God at the center of their lives. 

The Texas Historical Commission marker in front of the present church reads in part: “Located on the Old San Antonio-Indianola Road, this rural settlement, named for nearby Marcelinas Creek, began in late 1873, when Wiley R. Franklin (1837-93) bought land in the area (1.5 miles S) and built a small horse-powered cotton gin. In 1874, a Baptist congregation was organized, holding services in the home of Gabriel Moffit.” The church later added a cemetery that is still being used today. 

This area southeast of San Antonio has experienced much history since the Spanish started building missions in frontier Texas. To new immigrants, the nearby confluence of the San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek offered fertile farmland and fresh water. In 1718, the Spanish built the Rancho de la Mora to supply the San Antonio de Valero (Alamo) Mission. The Rancho had housing facilities for the approximately 30 vaqueros who managed about 5,000 head of cattle plus horses, mules, sheep, goats, and swine. There was also a 30 foot-long chapel with a large stone cross and altar.  

In 1810, much of this land was acquired by Juan Jose Maria Erasmo de Seguin, the father of Texas hero Juan N. Seguin. Roughly 1855, James Skiles purchased 1,500 acres of this land and established the townsite of Marcelina. Placing their trust in the Lord, these new arrivers gathered for worship outdoors until the church was built. 

Over time, Karnes and Wilson counties weathered hurricanes, droughts, floods, and Indian depredations. And there were other challenges, too. In 1958, uranium was discovered near Tordilla Hill, west of Falls City. As mining engulfed the area, farmers opposed developers’ efforts fearing radio-active contaminates would pollute the soil. Through it all, the church members remained true to the Lord and worshipped without ceasing.

Today, Marcelina is considered a ghost town. Tall grass stands sentinel over a nonexistent settlement that never even earned a historical marker. Other Texas towns have disappeared like Indian Gap, Carleton, and Independence. However, those towns still have some buildings standing or farm equipment rusting in the fields. But Marcelina has been totally reclaimed by nature, except for the Marcelina Baptist Church.

This Sunday morning, the hymns will be sung and scriptures read. Marcelina parishioners will gather as they have for over 150 years, to worship the Eternal God who remains the same, yesterday, today, and forever. They understand the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

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