Avoca Methodist Church
Avoca, Jones County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church grew from an 1887 brush arbor camp meeting in the Spring Creek community of Avo (1.5 miles west), conducted by the Rev. J. H. Wiseman, a Methodist circuit rider. The congregation moved to the new railroad town of Avoca when the present sanctuary was completed in 1906. The original steeple was later destroyed by a storm, and the belfry was added in 1953 under the supervision of the Rev. Joe Grimes to house two railroad locomotive bells. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -1981.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation grew out of an 1887 brush-arbor camp meeting led by Methodist circuit rider J. H. Wiseman in the Spring Creek community. When the railroad created the new town of Avoca, the church moved with the people and completed its sanctuary in 1906. After a storm destroyed the original steeple, a 1953 belfry was added to hold two railroad locomotive bells—a fitting echo of the railroad that had summoned the town into being.
Why it matters
It shows how the coming of the railroad reshaped rural settlement, pulling whole communities—churches and all—to the new towns that sprang up along the tracks.
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Themes & tags
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