Eddy Methodist Church
Eddy, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1868 a congregation of Methodist living in the Bell and Mclennan county region between Elm and Bull hide Creeks erected a simple sanctary at the site of a nearby cedar log toll bridge. The Rev. James Peeler, a Waco district Methodist Circuit preacher, served the Cedar Bridge Church congregation in 1873. The community of Eddy, known as Marvin when first settled about 1880, moved toward the railroad tracks extended through this area by the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad in1882. That year a building known as Sage Chapel was relocated from local rancher Charles Dunning's Land to Eddy for use by the Methodist and Baptist Congregation. Eddy Mothodest erected a new church building at this site in 1892. This sancturary, built in 1912 through the efforts of the Rev. S.B. Knowles, is a good example of an Akron plan Church. It features elaborate German-,ade stained glass windows, a stamped metal ceiling, and Prairie School style infuences sch as overhanging eaves with brackets, a hipped roof,and tower. Bruceville and Eddy Methodist Churches merged to form the Bruceville-Eddy United Methodist Churchin 1983. Renovation of the sanctuary in 1993 included placement of the Bruceville Church Bell in the Belfry.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1868 Methodists living between Elm and Bull Hide Creeks raised a simple sanctuary near a cedar-log toll bridge, served in the 1870s by circuit preacher Rev. James Peeler. When the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad reached the area in 1882, the community of Eddy shifted toward the tracks, and a relocated chapel served both Methodists and Baptists. The congregation built its present sanctuary in 1912, a fine Akron-plan church with German-made stained glass, a stamped-metal ceiling, and Prairie School touches.
Why it matters
The church traces how faith communities anchored Central Texas settlements and migrated with them as the railroads redrew the map of where towns would live and die.
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Related people
- · Rev. James Peeler
- · Rev. S. B. Knowles
- · Charles Dunning
Themes & tags
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