Doss, Texas

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Doss is on Mormon Creek nineteen miles northwest of Fredericksburg in northwestern Gillespie County.

History

Doss was founded in 1849 by brothers John E. and Thomas C. Doss, who built a gristmill and distillery on Threadgill Creek in 1856 and later added a dam and sawmill. They sold the dam in 1864 to August Steiness, who tore down the distillery and expanded the gristmill's capabilities. A room he added onto the house served for many years as a mail delivery station for the community. After Steiness's death in 1866, his widow sold the mill to William F. Lange, a German immigrant, who built a larger dam. This dam, which was destroyed by a flood, was rebuilt between 1872 and 1875 by stonemason Philip Buchmeyer, and the mill came to be known as Lange's Mill. The Doss school was founded in 1884. A post office called Lange was opened in F. W. Lange's store in 1898, but in 1907 the name was changed to Doss, and the office was moved to what is now the Doss townsite, two miles south of the mill.

Saint Peter Lutheran Church. Organized by German Lutherans in September 1896 under a brush arbor at nearby Lange's Mill, this church has been part of Gillespie County history for over 100 years. A frame church building erected in 1898 was replaced by this Gothic revival structure in 1912-1913. Built by church members using native limestone, the building features a central projecting bell tower and pressed metal steeple with cross stone quoins, and arched Gothic windows. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988. Historical Marker Text. Marker erected 1993. Location: from Harper take Ranch Road 783 approx. 14 miles to intersection of Ranch Road 783 and RR 648 in Doss.

Squaw Creek Primitive Baptist Church. Ten charter members constituted Squaw Creek Primitive Baptist Church in 1901, and elder S. N. Redford served as pastor from 1901 until 1907. Services were held in homes and in the Squaw Creek School until 1911, when members began meeting in the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church building, which they purchased in 1924. New facilities were constructed over time to meet the congregation's needs. A brush arbor at the rear of the property sheltered meetings of the Friendship Association of Primitive Baptists. Annual and, later, triennial camp meetings began in 1963 on the third weekend in July. The Squaw Creek Church continues to serve the Doss Valley and Primitive Baptists across the state. - Historical Marker Text. Marker erected 2002. Located 0.6 miles east of Doss on FM 648.