Historical Marker
Community of Pilgrim
Pilgrim, Gonzales County · Texas
Erected 1971
Thomas J. Pilgrim had studied at the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institute in New York before poor health sent him to Texas, and in Austin's colony he worked as interpreter and translator of Spanish. His San Felipe Sunday school was shut down because it broke the Mexican law against Protestant worship. In 1836 he helped capture a Mexican vessel near Matagorda, and in 1840 he fought at Plum Creek. With his second wife, Sarah Jane Bennett, he had thirteen children, seven of whom survived childhood. He served Gonzales County as treasurer and as justice of the peace.
What the plaque says
Community of Pilgrim Named in honor of Thomas J. Pilgrim (1804-1877), noted pioneer educator. Born in Connecticut, he came in 1828 to Texas, where in 1829 he organized a school at San Felipe, in Stephen F. Austin's Colony. Also started first Sunday School in Texas. In 1838 he received a land grant of 1,476 acres (including this site) from Texas Republic. Settled in Gonzales in 1840; started a Sunday School and was superintendent until 1871. Community became a prominent trading post in early 1840s and a hideout of famous gunman John Wesley Hardin in 1870s. (1971)
Where it stands
29.29554, -97.52142 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Pilgrim Presbyterian Church — 0.9 mi
- Salt Flats of Pilgrim Lake — 1.8 mi
- Community of Wrightsboro — 6.0 mi
- Smiley United Methodist Church — 7.4 mi