Columbia United Methodist Church
West Columbia, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation traces its history to early Methodist missionary activity during Texas' years as a Republic. In 1839 the Rev. Isaac L. G. Strickland was assigned to the Brazoria circuit and organized a Methodist church in Columbia (now West Columbia), an early capital of the Republic. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the town of Columbia lost much of its population to Marion (now East Columbia), and eventually the Methodist church began meeting there. The congregation built its first sanctuary in Marion, where the Columbia circuit preacher held services twice a month. About 1913, another Methodist congregation began meeting in West Columbia. In a few years, this church had grown to require a full-time pastor, while the East Columbia fellowship still was served by a circuit preacher. By 1928, the two congregations merged and have continued to meet in West Columbia since then. With its ties to the beginnings of Methodism in Texas, Columbia United Methodist Church stands as a significant reminder of Brazoria County history. (1984)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation reaches back to the missionary energy of Texas's years as an independent republic, when in 1839 the Rev. Isaac L. G. Strickland was assigned to the Brazoria circuit and organized a Methodist church in Columbia, an early capital. As the town's fortunes shifted toward neighboring Marion, the congregation moved with them, and later fellowships in East and West Columbia merged by 1928. It has met in West Columbia ever since.
Why it matters
With roots in the earliest days of Texas Methodism, the church is a living link to the religious life of the Republic of Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · Isaac L. G. Strickland
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Columbia Cemetery
West Columbia, TX
This burial ground was given from the grant of Josiah H. Bell, among the first land deeded to one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists. It holds the graves of many who fought in the Texas Revolution of 1836. Deeded to a Presbyterian congregation in 1852, it has been tended since 1933 by a cemetery association.
George Rounds
West Columbia, TX
New Yorker George Rounds fought in Colonel James W. Fannin's regiment during the Texas War for Independence and survived the Goliad Massacre that claimed most of his comrades. Settling in Columbia, he ran a tavern and, shortly before his death, left his estate to educate poor and orphaned children. When oil and gas were found on his land in the 1930s, the fund's value soared, and his bequest still aids local students.
Ammon Underwood
West Columbia, TX
Born in Massachusetts in 1810, Ammon Underwood came to Texas in 1834 after a young life of odd jobs, two shipwrecks, and wandering exploration. He fought in the 1835 Siege of Bexar during the Texas Revolution, then settled at West Columbia, where he ran a thriving mercantile business for fifty years and counted Republic of Texas president Anson Jones among his close friends. He lost a cotton fortune during the Civil War but later served in the state legislature.
Samuel Tubbs Angier, M.D.
West Columbia, TX
Born in Massachusetts in 1792, Samuel Tubbs took his grandmother's surname Angier and earned a Brown University medical degree before joining Stephen F. Austin's Old 300 colony in 1824. As one of the first American families to settle the Mexican province, he practiced medicine, served as a Freemason, and acted as an election judge for delegates to the 1836 convention that declared Texas independent. He also worked to establish public education in the young Republic of Texas.