March 21, 2026
Blizzards are becoming less common in Texas as of late. Kristi and I really wanted one, though, so we visited a nearby Dairy Queen. (You knew I was referring to ice cream, right?) While we were enjoying our treats, we decided that today was a good day to go on an adventure.
I’m still not able to walk far or sit in the truck for very long before my foot swells up and makes it difficult to walk. I think I’m getting better, overall, but this recovery period has been much longer than I anticipated. So, we decided that it was a good idea to find someplace nearby.
The AI features in Android Auto, the mobile app that we use for GPS navigation in our truck, has stepped up in sophistication as of the latest update. We were able to ask it for a list of historic churches and cemeteries in the area, and it provided a few points of interest for us to choose from. Thornton Church was the closest destination that we had not already explored.
Thorton Church was the center of the sparsely populated community of Thornton, located north of Glendale in Trinity County, Texas.
Thornton Church Road starts on TX-94 near Glendale, running roughly northwest. According to Google Maps, the road appeared to turn west past the church and then end at Glendale Road. However, as I’ll discuss later, that was not accurate.
Most of the route is through woods, with a few houses primarily located near TX-94. It felt a lot like driving through one of the nearby national forests. In fact, there is not much at all along this route except trees.
There was one notable creek along the way. I couldn’t find a name for it, though. It starts somewhere uphill on the east side of the road, then meanders its way to nearby Little White Rock Creek, not far from where we had our Machete Man Adventure.
We arrived at the church and cemetery, which are located in a clearing on the west side of the road, shortly after crossing the creek.
A historical marker stands under some trees near the cemetery fence.
I wasn’t up for a long walk in the cemetery, so I just took some pictures from outside the fence. Maybe one day we will come back to explore it and take some requested pictures of headstones.
Built in 1911, the present Thornton Church replaced an earlier structure that was probably built in 1872 and served as both a church and school. According to TXGenWeb, the school was listed in 1886 as Trinity County Community School Number 6. The TXGenWeb page goes on to say that the church “has an interesting history,” but I could find no further information. Perhaps the fact that it was the social, religious, and educational center of its community is interesting enough.
I admire the simple design of this building. It has a rectangular floorplan with one large room. Three large windows on the east and west sides, respectively, provide cross-ventilation.
The front door was slightly open when we arrived, despite the fact that it was secured with a gate latch. Animals have gotten inside and made a mess. We made sure that the doors were tightly shut when we left, but a strong gust of wind might open them again.
There is no air conditioning in the building, but I imagine the cross-breeze from the windows and the open-slat benches helped keep the congregation cool.
As I stated earlier, I thought that the road continued on to Glendale Road, which is a few miles from the church. But Google Maps is not always accurate or clear in its depiction of rural roads. Thornton Church Road ends at a gate on private property a short distance from the church. The Google Street View of Glendale Road reveals a gate on that end, too.
It was a short drive, but a pretty one. And it was definitely worthwhile.
On an unrelated note, it doesn’t look like we will be posting a wildflower tour this spring. We did take a trip this weekend, March 29, to explore our usual routes in Washington County, but there wasn’t much to see.
We did see some nice, big patches and fields around Plantersville on TX-105, and there are several nice spots in and around Huntsville.
This past winter was very dry, so it is not surprising that the flowers were sparse. But who knows? The rains may come despite the forecasts and we’ll get a late showing.
Thanks for the tour. I’m sorry that it is taking you longer than expected to heal. I loved seeing the inside of the church building. Not many flowers in my part of the Hill Country this year either, oh well, there’s always next year! Thanks again.