Elm Slough
Gonzales County, TX
Status: Located
Year Established: 1866
Council of Governments: GCRPC
Public History: In 1866, after the slaves were freed, pioneers in the Elm Slough community build a school and assigned teachers to provide basic education to the ex-slaves. The need for religious training and worship services was filled by the local Baptist church and the Elm Slough Methodist Episcopal Church. The first church services were held in a shared log house built on the Nettio place, with the two church groups attending services on alternate Sundays.
Subsequently, Trustees Aaron Russell, Wesley Smith, A.V. Walker, and Rev. Charles Crockett purchased one acre of land for a church site from Perry Jones and Agnes Jones. The small, poor congregation had trouble obtaining funds to build on the site. john Walker, formerly a slave belonging to the Evans family, remembered his young white mistress, the “kind-hearted Miss Cayloma Evans.” Formerly of Gonzales and now residing in St. Louis, Missouri, Miss Evans once had promised to help Walker establish a place to worship. In 1901, John Walker presented this information to the building committee members. A letter to Miss Evans was drafted by the schoolteachers E.W. Walker and Hugh Walker, requesting help with the building fund. Miss Evans responded on November 27, 1901, in a letter to John Walker. She wrote, “Dear Wash, I am enclosing a check for $75.00 [at that time a sizable sum] for the church you boys and John were trying to build.” She gave them a blessing and signed the letter, “I am very truly your friend, Cayloma Evans.”
The church edifice was designed by Frank Stevens with the help of other church members. It was built and furnished by year’s end. The church was renamed Evans Chapel Episcopal Methodist Church in remembrance of Cayloma Evans. In 1922, a windstorm destroyed the school building. Salvageable lumber was purchased by the church and used to build a cafeteria adjacent to the church building. Dedication, hard work, and love for this church on the part of descendants of the founders have helped it carry out the founders’ dreams for (as of 1993) over 128 years of service to the community. Among these descendants are Annie Marcellus, Ben Polk, Uncle Dan Polk, Estella Smith, O.V. Walker, and many others.
Community History: There are no current community descriptions of Elm Slough. Please consider sharing your own knowledge of the community with us.
Cemetery: Elm Slough Community Cemetery
Church: Evan’s Chapel United Methodist Church