John McCullough
One of the main streets through San Antonio is McCullough Avenue. It runs south from just above the 410 loop to where it bumps into 37, just south and east of the Alamo.
John McCullough is the man which that street is named for and on a short walk through the city his name can be run into more than once. These pictures were taken during a westward walk along Commerce toward Soledad.
Above is a marker commemorating the first Protestant church service in San Antonio. The service was apparently co produced (what exactly *is* the term for that?) by both John McCullough for the Presbyterian side of things and John Wesley DeVilbiss for the Methodist flavor. The plaque has a date of April 1844. This is the same year that the telegraph connected Washington and Baltimore as well as the same year that Alexander Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers was published.
Apparently McCullough was a mover and a shaker (not Shaker, though they are Protestants and I suppose they would have been welcome at the Old Adobe as well.) in the religious community of the city.
This is a sign marking the location of The Old Adobe, which is the first Protestant church in San Antonio. According to an online source, the church was built in 1847, well before the Civil War and a mere 3 years after that same source cited a city population of only 1000 people due to extended fighting between Texas and Mexico in the area.
The Old Adobe was actually built before Bexar county officially existed. Following his success with the first Protestant services and his building of The Old Adobe, McCullough opened a school for Mexican children and according to this source, paved the way for the first free school system in the city.
There must be more to the story than can easily be found, however. The site linked above also says there was at least one attempt on his life after all of these good deeds.
John McCullough abandoned his accomplishments in 1849, leaving the city for good. I wonder what exactly prompted him to leave and what he found to do afterward. He lived another 21 years beyond his time in San Antonio.
