question that stood at the very root and core of the emerging identity of the earliest Churches of Christ: In the midst of the denominational diversity in the new nation, ‘‘where is the true church now to be found? — and how shall we be enabled to know it? — to identify and recognize it?’’ In formulating his answer to this question, Howard noted how the early pioneers in the ‘‘western country’’ had established their claims to land. Each pioneer would find a tree to mark the beginning corner of the