John Sterling Durst Pioneer Minister

Durst preached in a movement carried largely by its papers. The first Texas religious periodical by a Church of Christ member was Carroll Kendrick's short-lived Christian Philanthropist, which merged into the Gospel Advocate of Nashville; by 1860 the Advocate, with a Texas department Kendrick edited, and the American Christian Review of Cincinnati were the most influential among Texas members. Texas papers followed: the Christian Messenger, later Burnett's Budget, from 1875 to 1916; the Christian Preacher, 1875-95; and the Firm Foundation, published in Austin from 1884 to 1983. The Christian Chronicle began in Abilene in 1942.

What the plaque says

John Sterling Durst Pioneer Minister The son of pioneer Texans. John Sterling Durst (1841-1924) was born in Leon County. After service in the Confederate Army, a sermon moved him to join the Church of Christ ministry. When the Rev. Durst bought a nearby farm and moved his family here in 1883, Kimble County was still a frontier region. He preached in this area and on summer tours around the state. A respected leader, he served as county judge, 1902-1910, and as county school superintendent. He was married to Adelaide Reed (d. 1874) and then to Lilla Kittrell and had a large family. (1979)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Kimble County Historical Museum — 1.0 mi
  A free county museum in Junction, the town at the meeting of the North and South Llano, with the papers, photographs and tools of a ranching county.
• Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve — 26 mi
  A limestone cave on the James River where about four million Mexican free-tailed bats raise their young each summer, kept open to visitors by a family's gift.
• Fort McKavett State Historic Site — 31 mi
  The post Sherman called the prettiest in Texas, home to soldiers of all four Buffalo Soldier regiments and then to a town that lived in its buildings until 1973.

More markers nearby

• Stevenson, Coke R., Texas Statesman — steps away
• Colonel John Griffith — steps away
• Early History of Kimble County — steps away
• Fight of Sheriff's Posse with Cattle Rustlers — steps away