First Methodist Church of Allen
Allen, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Methodists were among the earliest settlers in Collin County. A group of thirteen pioneers met at Joseph Russell’s log cabin close to present-day Allen on November 15, 1847 and organized a church. Russell’s home was located south of Rowlett Creek near present-day Jupiter Road. The church services became part of the far-reaching Dallas circuit and were presided over by multiple traveling ministers. The growing congregation moved three miles to the west and conducted meetings at the Spring Creek School when it was built in 1857. However, when the railroad came through in 1876, the church was moved several miles away to Plano. The community, which the church had served, was organized as Allen in 1876. Area Methodists were eager to establish a church closer to their community. Early meetings were most likely held in the Allen Schoolhouse, but soon after, the Baptists opened their church doors to let the Methodists worship independently. The first known Allen pastor was Methodist camp preacher and revivalist Rev. George S. Gatewood, who held camp meetings under a brush arbor at Pegues Springs, southeast of town. The Methodist Church purchased a parcel of land in 1884, but it is unclear if a church was built on this site. A second plot they bought was on the corner of S. Allen Dr. And McDermott Rd., and a one-room church house was built there in 1902. Damaged in the 1910s, a new building was constructed between 1917-19, and was razed in 1965. The current building on S. Greenville Ave. was built in 1966. The first parsonage, which is still standing, was built on Butler Street and used until 1960. A notable member of the congregation was Dr. Malcom O. Perry II, one of the surgeons who attended President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On November 15, 1847, thirteen pioneers gathered in Joseph Russell's log cabin near present-day Allen to organize one of Collin County's earliest Methodist congregations, served at first by circuit-riding preachers on the far-flung Dallas circuit. As the railroad reshaped the area in the 1870s, the church followed its people, worshiping in schoolhouses and, thanks to neighborly Baptists, in borrowed pews before building its own house in 1902. Through fires, rebuildings, and a final 1966 sanctuary, the congregation endured—counting among its members Dr. Malcolm O. Perry, a surgeon who treated President Kennedy in 1963.
Why it matters
From frontier brush-arbor camp meetings to the modern era, the church shows how itinerant Methodist circuit riders helped plant permanent communities across settling Texas.
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Related people
- · Joseph Russell
- · Rev. George S. Gatewood
- · Dr. Malcolm O. Perry II
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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