The Old Church Duet- Clue #12
These two sit side by side
And monitor the people
Although different, they are the same
Complete with a steeple.
Answer: The
Old Methodist and Old Baptist Church
Walking across the street, along the
gravel path and to the grassy field, Peter and Matthew stood in between two
large, white buildings, both complete
with a steeple. “Which one is the church we are searching for?” Peter
scratched his head, “Did the clue specify?”
“Well,” Matthew responded, reciting
the note, “The clue said that we should visit a local church with a steeple,
and that it would create an end.” Matthew flips open the journal to a page near
the back, pulled out a small, yellowish paper, and immediately begins reading
in a whisper.
“So? Notice anything new?” Peter
questioned while peaking over Matthew’s head.
“No, but Kirk wrote that the one on
our right is the Old Baptist Church, while the one on the left sits on the site
of the Old Methodist Church,” Matthew answered, “The Methodist Church was
reposition from this location to a new place in 2002.”
“Okay, so we need to learn about
both of these old churches,” Peter concluded, “Let’s start with the Old Baptist
Church.” Matthew nods with approval and the pair of friends stroll side-by-side
over to the church on the right along the path, past a few small trees.
“So, did Kirk write a history of
this place along with the history for the rest of our locations?” Peter asked.
Flipping back some pages, careful not
to tear a page, Matthew grins happily, “There we go. Kirk wrote that this
Baptist Church was built in January 1st, 1902; however, a fellowship
was already organized in 1850. Subsequently, an addition was adjoined for
education in the 1940’s.”
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“That’s only four years before
Thomas Chilton died; The Thomas Chilton that resided in the Chilton-Dean house;
the house that the thieves ran away to!” Peter reflected.
“You’re correct, but one point you
forgot about is that Mr. Chilton is actually Reverend Thomas Chilton. He became the church’s first full-time
pastor in 1853 while it is said that during the pastorate of O. P. Stark the
Church was built and he even designed the building himself!” Matthew continued,
“Unfortunately, in 1918, a section of the towering steeple was annihilated by a
storm. In addition, the congregate ceased worship here in 1979.”
“Oh, I know that this is a Greek
revival building!” Peter inferred.
“Yes, the church was marked as a
Texas Historical Landmark in 1985,” Matthew replied.
“What religion did Marcus Sebastian
belong to?” Peter inquired.
“Umm, neither Marcus nor Kirk mentioned their
religion.” Matthew answered cautiously.
“It’s fine. I knew we were to fail
the second you read the clue at the Olde School House that said that the
Churches would bring our journey to an end,” Peter sighed.
“Okay then let’s move on to the Old
Methodist Church, we might at least learn something new,” Matthew smiled.
After a short discussion about their
previous locations, the duo walked back towards the site of the Old Methodist
Church while Peter recovered from his misery. “Matthew,” Peter nudged, “Look at
the horizon, a sunset already.”
Matthew sighed, “Yep, another day.”
Peter strolls over to the Historical Marker and begins reading quietly to himself
while Matthew takes the note with the journal, places himself on a bench, and
starts skimming through the two reference materials while reading aloud in the
intent for Peter to listen. “Kirk wrote that this Methodist church was built
when Isaac L. G. Strickland established a Methodist congregation in 1838. However,
Elder Littleton Fowler of the Mississippi Methodist Conference directed the
founding.”
“Is this the church for the Old
Montgomery Cemetery?” Peter inferred, “Also, is Isaac Strickland the 1st
pastor and Littleton the director?”
“Indeed for both!” Matthew chuckled
as he glanced over at Peter, “In fact, four circuit riders were buried in the
bordering Old Montgomery Cemetery. The Old Montgomery Cemetery is the first of
three sanctuaries; second and third were built in 1852 and 1908 respectively.”
Peter had finished reading the
Historical Marker and subsequently sat down beside Matthew, following along
with Matthew’s analysis of the four clues. “We have the journal by Marcus and
Kirk, a coin you found in a ditch, and two slips of paper. I think that maybe
these all lead to a certain person. The problem is, we have no idea whom this
individual is,” Matthew commented to Peter.
“I read on the marker that this land
was initially assigned to Isaac Strickland when he instituted the Methodist
Conference in Montgomery. His expanse of and was said to be from the Brazos to
the Trinity River!” Peter remarked.
“That is,” Matthew responded. Then,
he suggested that they end their journey as the note had predicted due to the
lack of direction for anymore unnecessary exploration of the truth of the
journal. “We both know that the journal must be a fake; all we can do now is to
accept that we have been tricked and go home.”
While the sun slipped undetected under
the orange glowing horizon, the pair returned to their respective homes,
dissatisfied and discouraged with their failure. Matthew placed the journal on
his living room table whilst Peter slips the notes and the coin in a drawer to
gather cobwebs for these items are no longer needed. Misery slowly melted away
Peter’s happiness and Matthew proceeded to read the entire journal out of
boredom of the summer break. The duet of friends slumped onto their beds a few
houses away from each other and both fell into slumber with depression & a
desolate pessimistic atmosphere enfolded upon their hunched bodies.
