Harmony Baptist Church and Cemetery

The Handbook of Texas tells Harmony as a community that grew up around this church on the west bank of Ecleto Creek. Its entry puts the Woodmen of the World lodge on the building's second floor. Later, classes moved about a mile away to New Harmony School near Rhymes Creek, which was running in the 1920s. The building kept a civic use long after the school left: in 1990 the community still held its elections here. Harmony never had a post office, and a 1983 county highway map marked the cemetery at the site.

What the plaque says

Harmony Baptist Church and Cemetery According to oral tradition, the Harmony Baptist Church began in 1864. A church building was constructed by 1875, when Thomas Ragsdale donated land at this site to the church. The building was used also for school classes and Woodmen of the World Lodge meetings. The nearby cemetery is the burial site of some early settlers of Harmony and Karnes County. The oldest marked grave, that of Martha Rabb, dates to 1875. Although the Harmony Baptist Church disbanded in 1974, descendants of early members continue to meet here annually. (1986)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Panna Maria — 8.1 mi
  The Silesian village on a plateau above the San Antonio River that claims the oldest permanent Polish settlement in America, with a church of 1878 and a ceiling found again in 2000.

More markers nearby

• Old Riedel Dam and Early Industries — 5.5 mi
• Thomas Ruckman — 7.0 mi
• Helena — 7.0 mi
• Helena Union Church — 7.0 mi