The Junior Historian, Volume 17, Number 4, January 1957 Page: 2
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
built was of great benefit to the public,
for until then all grain had been ground
by hand. It was a catastrophe to the
whole countryside when the mill was
washed away by a flood.
Following the flood an "exploring
committee" was sent out to find a bet-
ter location. This committee reported
a spot on the banks of the Pedernales.
They described it as having "plenty of
good water and timber abounding with
game and honey." The next year a
definite site was selected on the Peder-
nales about four miles southeast of
Fredericksburg.
Within six weeks after their arrival,
the colonists had a gristmill and a saw-
mill in operation. Houses were built,
and right along with the houses a
school and a store were erected.
Very soon a temple also was erected.
In this temple not only religious func-
tions were held but one night three
Mormons hid there to escape robbers.
When the buildings were all completed,
Wight gave it the name of Zodiac.
At Zodiac the farms flourished. Every
section had a frontage on the river.
These sections were divided by neat
fences. The farms were irrigated and
the stables and barns were all very neat
and clean.
When the Mormons first settled at
Zodiac, Fredericksburg, a colony of
German immigrants founded in May,
1846, was on the verge of breaking up.
For many of the colonists who were
from cities and knew very little about
farming, the Mormons were of great
help in teaching the fundamentals of
farming. It was the Mormons who
showed them how to raise many of the
things that were suited to the Texas
climate.
From the sawmill the Mormons built
came much of the lumber used by the
German settlers and almost all their
grain was ground in the gristmill of
Zodiac. The Mormons even gave em-
ployment in their gristmill to some of
the German settlers. Some of the col-onists, on the other hand, found em-
ployment at Fort Martin Scott close to
their own settlement. This fort was
then under construction by the United
States government.
Zodiac lay well within the Comanche
country, and the Mormons made every
effort to make friends with the Indians.
Lyman Wight talked with them about
the Book of Mormon and explained
many of its teachings, probably point-
ing out the influence that the Iroquois
Indians of New York are said to have
had on its author, Joseph Smith. The
Comanche under Chief Buffalo Hump
visited the Mormons many times and
gave them permission to travel any-
where in the Comanche territory.
News of this flourishing Mormon col-
ony seemed to spread, for in 1848 two
messengers were sent to Zodiac to try
to bring Lyman Wight to Utah. They
threatened to excommunicate him from
the church if he refused. Wight re-
fused saying, "Nobody under the light
of the heavens except Joseph Smith or
John Smith, the President of the Fifty,
can call me from Texas to go to Salt
Lake City."
The messengers returned to Utah and
gave their report to Brigham Young. A
short time later, Wight was excommu-
nicated from the church.
While at Zodiac, the followers of
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints," which is the official name
for the movement commonly known as
Mormonism, practiced their religious
beliefs. Among those observed were
fort washing, anointing, and baptism
for the dead. In baptism for the dead,
members of the church stood in proxy
for deceased relatives who had not
heard the teachings of the church.
Polygamy, or the practice of having
more than one wife, was openly pro-
fessed and practiced by the Mormons;
however, Noah Smithwick, who was a
neighbor of Wight's colonists, stated
that he had not observed any plural
marriages in the Texas group.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 17, Number 4, January 1957, periodical, January 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391442/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.