Elizabeth Chapel Methodist Church
Caldwell, Burleson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First Methodist Church in the county. Began as Sunday School in home of Isaac addison, early settler. Later moved to home of Mrs. Elizabeth Scott. Organized about 1839 by Robt. Alexander, famous pioneer minister. Soon a small, hand-hewn frame building was erected and named for Mrs. Scott. Land containing both the church and cemetery was given to Methodist Episcopal Church, South, by Mrs. Scott's son, Phillip, in 1878. Membership reached peak of 165 in 1885. Church merged with the Cooks Point church about 1907. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The first Methodist congregation in Burleson County began as a Sunday school in the home of early settler Isaac Addison and later met at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Scott. Organized around 1839 by the pioneer minister Robert Alexander, it soon raised a small hand-hewn frame building named for Mrs. Scott, whose son Phillip deeded the church and cemetery land in 1878. Membership peaked at 165 in 1885 before the congregation merged with the Cooks Point church around 1907.
Why it matters
The chapel marks the earliest reach of organized Methodism into frontier Texas, when circuit-riding ministers helped anchor scattered settlements into communities.
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Related people
- · Robert Alexander
- · Elizabeth Scott
- · Isaac Addison
Themes & tags
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