Cottage Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery
Celina, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
According to local tradition this Methodist Church traces its origin to pioneer religious gatherings organized by the Rev. John Culwell and held in the home of his brother, Andrew J. Culwell, about 1846, and to the establishment of Methodist campground meetings held at nearby Honey Creek about 1848. The first documentary mention of Cottage Hill Methodist Church is contained in the minutes of the Trinity Conference held in Plano in 1874. A church structure was built on land donated by F.F. Morrill at this site in 1881; H.H. Sullivan served as pastor. The sizable number of early headstones bearing the name Culwell and the many unmarked graves surrounding the gravesite of Martha Culwell (d.1870), the cemetery's earliest recorded interment, suggests that the Cottage Hill Cemetery began as a family cemetery. Although located adjacent to each other and believed to have been connected as part of land deeded to the Cottage Hill Church during the 1880s and 1890s, the church and cemetery have not been formally associated since the establishment of the Cottage Hill Cemetery Association in 1890. The church structure, renovated in 1946, continues to serve the Cottage Hill Methodist Church.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Local tradition traces this Methodist congregation to pioneer prayer gatherings in the Culwell family home around 1846 and to camp meetings at nearby Honey Creek soon after. A church was built on donated land in 1881, and the adjoining cemetery — begun as a family burial ground around the 1870 grave of Martha Culwell — grew into a community resting place dense with early settlers' headstones. The congregation still worships in a structure renovated in 1946.
Why it matters
Church and cemetery together map the arrival and endurance of pioneer families on the Collin County prairie, from camp-meeting faith to a settled community.
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Related people
- · John Culwell
- · Andrew J. Culwell
- · Martha Culwell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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