Center City United Methodist Church
Star, Mills County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the early 1870s, shortly after the founding of Center City (first known as Hughes Store), a circuit riding preacher ministered in the area. Charter members officially formed a Methodist church in 1878. Members first met in the community’s masonic lodge building before completing construction of a facility in 1901. From its early days, the congregation was committed to serving the community. By the 1950s, members partnered with other churches to work with youth and to focus on foreign missions. In 1952, members moved into a new church building. Today, the congregation continues to serve as a spiritual leader in the community of Center City. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the young settlement of Center City—first known as Hughes Store—a circuit-riding preacher brought Methodism to the area in the early 1870s, and charter members organized a church in 1878. The congregation first gathered in the Masonic lodge before building its own home in 1901, then a new building in 1952. Through mission work and youth ministry, it has remained a spiritual anchor of this small central Texas community.
Why it matters
It reflects how circuit riders and frontier congregations became the social backbone of newly settled rural Texas, long before towns had much else.
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Themes & tags
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