Aubrey First United Methodist Church
Aubrey, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
IN 1858, DR. GEORGE T. KEY AND HIS FAMILY, ORIGINALLY FROM MISSOURI, MOVED TO DENTON COUNTY AND SETTLED NEAR THE PRESENT TOWN OF AUBREY. THERE THEY BUILT LOG CABINS, ONE OF WHICH WAS USED FOR A SCHOOL AND CHURCH. THE BUILDING, KNOWN AS THE KEY SCHOOL HOUSE, WAS THE HOME OF ONE OF THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCHES ESTABLISHED IN DENTON COUNTY, LATER RENAMED AUBREY METHODIST CHURCH. FOR YEARS, THE CONGREGATION OF THE AUBREY METHODIST CHURCH MET AT THE KEY SCHOOL AND IN MEMBERS’ HOMES UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF REVEREND F.V. EVANS. IN 1885, L.N. EDWARDS MADE AN ADDITION TO THE ORIGINAL TOWN PLAT OF AUBREY AND OFFERED A FREE LOT TO EACH CHURCH. THE AUBREY METHODIST CHURCH ACCEPTED THE LOTS ON THE CORNER OF PLUM AND MAPLE STREETS. ED F. BATES, A PIONEER CITIZEN OF THE COUNTY, DONATED FUNDS TO BUILD A CHURCH BUILDING AS CHURCH FUNDS WERE EXTREMELY SCARCE. CONSTRUCTION ON A WOOD-FRAME BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN 1886. ON APRIL 14, 1918, A DEVASTATING TORNADO SWEPT THROUGH AUBREY AND DESTROYED THE CHURCH. A NEW, ONE-STORY BRICK VENEER BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY 1919. THE EXQUISITE PRE-RAPHAEL STYLE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS DEPICT STORIES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND ALLOW VIBRANT COLORS TO FILL THE SANCTUARY. IN 1968, THE CHURCH WAS RENAMED AUBREY FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH WHEN THE EVANGELICAL UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH AND THE METHODIST CHURCH COMBINED. THE CHURCH INCORPORATED AND BUILT AN ADJACENT FELLOWSHIP HALL IN 1986. FROM MEETING IN A LOG CABIN TO ENDURING A CYCLONE, THE AUBREY FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OVERCAME MANY OBSTACLES AND CONTINUES TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1858 Dr. George T. Key moved his family from Missouri to Denton County and built log cabins near present-day Aubrey, one of which served as both school and church — the Key School House that cradled one of the county's first Methodist congregations. After years of meeting in the schoolhouse and members' homes, the church accepted a free town lot in 1885 and completed a frame building in 1886. A 1918 tornado leveled that structure, but the congregation rebuilt in brick by 1919, adorning it with Pre-Raphaelite-style stained glass, and continues to serve Aubrey today.
Why it matters
From a frontier log cabin through a devastating cyclone, the church embodies the resilience of the pioneer congregations that helped settle North Texas.
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Related people
- · George T. Key
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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