[1]SAN SABA, Texas —A welcome sign off U.S. Highway 190 identifies San Saba as the “Pecan Capital of the World”—a claim hard to deny. The Central Texas town of just over 3,000 is surrounded by pecan orchards and boasts numerous shellers, packers, retailers, and distributors.
People around here say this is a community on the rise. Actor Tommy Lee Jones owns a large ranch in the county. An enormous western store covers half a city block, which is also graced by restaurants, shops, a restored historic hotel, and a world-famous olive oil company.
But on July 4, the only thing on the rise here was the San Saba River, which overflowed its banks, swamping buildings, flooding the city’s Mill Pond Park, and filling homes with water, mud, and debris—sending residents scurrying to pull their soggy belongings curbside.
Unlike Kerr County to the south, there was no weather-related loss of life in San Saba on Independence Day 2025. But still there was loss.
Getting to work
The city of San Saba’s website is anchored with emergency messages instructing property owners needing help to come to First Baptist Church San Saba, where Southern Baptist Disaster Relief resources can be accessed.
[2]Flood survivors first fill out requests, and then trained assessors determine if DR crews can help—work always done without charge. As of July 10, about 30 Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief volunteers from across the state and a dozen from Oklahoma Baptist DR are at the FBC site, busy with assessment, chaplaincy, and mud-out efforts. More workers are expected to arrive over the weekend.
Teams also include volunteers from the church trained only last Sunday by Lowell Warren, SBTC DR’s incident leader, also known as a “white hat.”
July 10 found the church parking lot filled with SBDR trailers and a shower-laundry unit. The church is letting volunteers bunk inside and use its kitchen facilities. Fellowship areas have been transformed into a DR command central.
SBDR is a cooperative effort involving churches, state DR teams, and Send Relief and its partners. SBTC DR volunteer Lynn Eastepp praised the cooperative spirit, noting that church and DR admin teams are working closely together. “They know the survivors. A lot of them are members of the church,” he said, adding that the cooperation facilitates getting assessors to the proper homes efficiently.
‘You lose everything’
Eastepp said he and fellow SBTC DR volunteer Pat Pryor determined water had risen five feet over County Road 200, more than 25 feet up to the bridge and above that.
“The damage is pretty significant, with a lot of flooding along the river and in low-lying areas,” Pryor said.
Assessor Wade Billingsley, a retired insurance agent who had lost homes to hurricanes and floods before, observed, “Eight inches of water is as good as eight feet of water. You lose everything.”
Billingsley told the story of one elderly San Saba ranch wife—her husband in a local nursing home—who faced the flood alone. The ranch house was located beside the river but atop a 30-foot embankment. The floodwater rose more than 30 feet, the force of the raging torrent sending a large log crashing through and shattering a 12×12-foot plate glass window.
Water crested five feet inside the home, Billingsley said. The women’s sons told him the ranch had never flooded before.
Most people approached by SBTC DR chaplains Jerrie and Andy Reynolds said the same. People who had lived in the area for 50 years said the river had never gotten that high before.
One woman told the chaplains her husband had been home alone when the storm struck. He moved vehicles to higher ground and drove back to the house, planning to transfer some items to the upper story. By the time he walked back downstairs, the river was there, his 4×4 vehicle flooded. He was rescued by boat.
Attitudes remain positive on their first deployment, according to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. “People are really optimistic,” Jerrie said. “We ask them if they have a relationship with Jesus, and they say yes. It’s really encouraging to us. We weren’t sure what to expect.”
Still, the needs are great. “Most don’t have flood insurance,” Jerrie added. “Many are counting on us to help.”
Reflecting the gospel
At the request of San Saba native and FBC member Debbie Shahan, Jim DeLaPlaine, a semi-retired civil engineer, examined the historic Old Mill House at Old Mill Park, near the center of town, which had been flooded. The assessment provided Shahan with information the city needed to salvage the 19th century structure. Inside Old Mill House, a thin sheet of mud coated the floors. Walls and countertops indicated the water had risen five feet or more.
Shahan’s son’s home had been flooded, as well. Like the Old Mill House, the Shahan home—dating from the days of E.E. Riesen, the Victorian Englishman who pioneered the San Saba pecan industry in the 1870s—was constructed of cement floors and rock walls to ward off floods.
The river came anyway.
“It is great to see a church and community pull together to meet the needs of survivors. The energy at the base of operations, FBC San Saba with Pastor Alan Arthur, reflects the gospel,” said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director. “We are excited to work and serve with FBC and the residents of San Saba.”
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