Elkhart is a town in the U.S. state of Texas, in Anderson County. The history of Elkhart starts with Daniel Parker's Pilgrim Predestinarian Baptist Church. It was formed in Crawford County, Illinois in 1833, because the government of Mexico would not allow the Baptist church's organization within their borders. Daniel, and his father John Parker, led their cong…Elkhart is a town in the U.S. state of Texas, in Anderson County. The history of Elkhart starts with Daniel Parker's Pilgrim Predestinarian Baptist Church. It was formed in Crawford County, Illinois in 1833, because the government of Mexico would not allow the Baptist church's organization within their borders. Daniel, and his father John Parker, led their congregation to Texas, settling in Austin's Colony in 1834. While John Parker's group settled and established Fort Parker, Daniel's group settled first in the territory that became Grimes County and later moved to the area around Fort Houston. Daniel Parker spent his time traveling and preaching in the homes of his scattered congregation. In 1836, the threats of General Santa Anna's troops in April 1836, and the attack of Fort Parker in May 1836 sent the remnant of John Parker's group to seek protection near Fort Houston. The Pilgrim Church resumed meetings in February 1837, and resolved in 1839 to build a church house, selecting 2.5 acres "on the north side of the bluff of the Harrison Fork of Bayou Blue near Daniel Parker's house". They constructed a log house and cleared a burial ground where Daniel Parker was buried in 1844. The church, now called Old Pilgrim Church, which has been replaced several times since the first log house, was the center of the community called Parker's Settlement, or just Pilgrim.
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