George's Creek, Texas

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History

George's Creek is north of U.S. Highway 67 between Cleburne and Glen Rose in northeastern Somervell County. At the time of its founding the community was in Johnson County; the site subsequently became part of Hood County, and, in 1875, of Somervell County. The site is in the Brazos overlooked by a sharp escarpment. The countryside is heavily wooded with live oak, cedar, post oak, Spanish oak, and some mesquite. Barnard's Knob, Berry's Knob, and Comanche Peak break the horizon to the northwest. The town developed as a companion community to Fort Spunky in the 1850s on a tributary of the Brazos River called George's Creek. George Barnard, who founded several Indian trading posts along the Brazos River, bought several thousand acres of land in the area, including the little creek bearing his name. His brother Charles Barnard had a trading post four miles to the north of George's Creek on the Brazos until the United States government moved the Indian tribes to Fort Graham. The George's Creek community survived the decline of the trading post and continued to exist until World War II.

The history of the George's Creek community can be traced to two men who passed through the area on an 1841 expedition from the Republic of Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The men, George Barnard and Thomas Torrey, later acquired land in the vicinity. Barnard and his brother established a trading post called Barnardville, which was later renamed Fort Spunky. By 1885, many additional families had arrived in the area, establishing farms, businesses and churches, including Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist congregations. Records indicate two active Baptist churches in George's Creek community in the 1880s: Good Hope and George's Creek. A third Baptist church, Buck Creek, formed near the Nemo community in the early 1890s. In its early years, George's Creek Baptist Church, established in 1885, shared a pastor with the Good Hope congregation. They also shared space with other churches, meeting in the Methodist church building, in schoolhouses, and under brush arbors and tents. In 1905, the church reorganized, and members constructed a tabernacle at the cemetery in 1908. There, they held services and revivals, as well as meetings. They later moved into a sanctuary, which they continue to use today, built by the Holiness Church in 1915. Although records for certain time periods are scarce, the known history of George's Creek Baptist Church indicates more than a century of dedicated worship. Even in times without regular pastors, the congregation maintained a strong Sunday School program. The membership has changed along with the area population, but the church continues to be a spiritual and social center for the community it serves. - Historical Marker Text. Historical Marker for George's Creek Baptist Church. Marker erected 2004. Location: E of Glen Rose on US 67, then N on CR 308 to George's Creek, almost to the intersection with CR 2174

George's Creek Cemetery is near the George's Creek Baptist Church (to the east).