Old Rock Church

Old Rock Church, also known as Old Rock Baptist Church, is east of Farm Road 476 and seven miles southeast of Lytle in far northwestern Atascosa County. The congregation that built it came to the site from Medina Baptist Church, which was organized at Mann's Crossing in Bexar County in 1857. This group was originally from Kentucky. Its members moved to the neighborhood of what was then called Old Somerset (and is now known as Lytle) in an attempt to improve their financial condition after the Civil War. An adjacent cemetery, known as Somerset Cemetery in the 1800s, has graves dating as far back as 1854. Its name was changed to Old Rock Cemetery around 1900. The newly arrived Baptists met in a brush arbor in 1866 but purchased land for a new church in 1867. The building was completed in 1872, and the congregation included Blacks and Mexican-Americans in its membership. The original Medina Baptist group moved again in 1892, but the cemetery and the church structure were maintained for use on special occasions. When the Grayburg Oil Company located in the area in 1921, the building was refurbished and took the name "Old Rock Church." The church, cemetery, and one dwelling occupied the site in the 1940s. In 1987 maps showed a few more dwellings there. A historical marker was placed at the site of Old Rock Church in 1971. In 2000 county highway maps showed the cemetery and simply labeled the locale as Old Rock.

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Linda Peterson | © TSHA

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Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Old Rock Church is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

No

Place type

Old Rock Church is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Somerset)

Location

Latitude: 29.19079610
Longitude: -98.68002140

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No