First Methodist Church of Texas City
Texas City, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church began with informal Methodist meetings attended by a small group of newly arrived families to Texas City in 1894. The congregation grew and became Texas City's first formally organized church in 1896. The Rev. E. L. Ashmore, a member of the Gulf Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North) served as the congregation's first paid pastor. Compelled to seek a secure location after much of Texas City was destroyed in the 1900 storm, the congregation built its first sanctuary at the corner of 3rd Ave. N and 3rd Street by late 1900. A split between the older "northern" and newer "southern" factions of the church led to the formation of the separate Central Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1907. Although Central Methodist Church initially struggled, their sanctuary, built at the corner of 4th Street and 6th Ave. N about 1913, eventually housed a congregation larger than that of its parent church. The two congregations joined in 1938, before the denominational reunion, to form the First Methodist Church. In 1940, during the pastorate of the Rev. F. Clyde Woodward, the congregation built a new sanctuary at 5th ave. N and 4th Street. The church was renamed the First United Methodist Church in 1968.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation grew from informal Methodist gatherings among families newly arrived to Texas City in 1894, becoming the town's first organized church two years later. When the 1900 Galveston hurricane leveled much of the area, the congregation rebuilt; a split between "northern" and "southern" Methodist factions in 1907 spawned a rival church that eventually outgrew its parent, before the two reunited in 1938 to form First Methodist.
Why it matters
The church's history mirrors the founding, near-destruction, and rebirth of an entire Gulf Coast town, as well as the North-South denominational divide that lingered in American Protestantism long after the Civil War.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Texas City was a young town in the 1890s, promoted as a new port and industrial community on the western shore of Galveston Bay. New families arrived hoping to build a future, and churches were among the first institutions they established, often starting as informal gatherings in homes before any building existed.
Then came September 1900. The Galveston hurricane remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, killing thousands of people and devastating Galveston and the surrounding coast. As the marker notes, much of Texas City was destroyed. The communities that survived faced the enormous task of rebuilding, and of deciding where and how to rebuild more safely.
The church's history also reflects a national religious divide. American Methodism had split in 1844, largely over slavery, into northern and southern branches. That split lasted long after the Civil War. In a new town drawing families from different parts of the country, the two traditions could end up side by side, and sometimes in tension.
People & events
The story begins modestly. In 1894 a small group of families new to Texas City began meeting informally for Methodist worship. By 1896 they had organized formally, making theirs Texas City's first organized church. The Rev. E. L. Ashmore, of the Gulf Mission Conference of the northern Methodist Episcopal Church, became the congregation's first paid pastor.
The 1900 storm changed everything. With much of the town destroyed, the congregation looked for a more secure location. Remarkably, by late 1900 it had built its first sanctuary at 3rd Avenue North and 3rd Street. It was a determined act of faith and rebuilding in the same year as the disaster.
The congregation still faced division. In 1907 tensions between older northern members and newer southern members led to a separate congregation, Central Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Central struggled at first, but around 1913 it built a sanctuary at 4th Street and 6th Avenue North and eventually grew larger than its parent church. In 1938 the two congregations reunited as First Methodist Church, before the national denominations themselves reunited. In 1940, under the Rev. F. Clyde Woodward, the church built a new sanctuary at 5th Avenue North and 4th Street, and in 1968 it became First United Methodist Church.
Its place in the American story
This church's story mirrors one of the long shadows of the Civil War in American religious life. The northern and southern branches of Methodism stayed separate for nearly a century. When the national bodies finally reunited in 1939, the reunion was a landmark in healing that old division. The Texas City congregations came back together a year earlier, a local reconciliation ahead of the national one.
The church's name changes also track the larger history of American Methodism. First came the northern and southern churches, then the reunited Methodist Church, and finally the United Methodist Church, formed in 1968 through a merger with the Evangelical United Brethren Church. A single congregation's timeline can be a clear window into those national shifts.
The church is also a story of Gulf Coast resilience. The 1900 hurricane is a turning point in American disaster history, and communities like Texas City show how Americans rebuilt after catastrophe. Institutions like churches were often at the center of that recovery.
If you visit
As you explore Texas City, the marker helps you read the town's layout differently. The addresses in the church's history, at 3rd Avenue North and 3rd Street, 4th Street and 6th Avenue North, and 5th Avenue North and 4th Street, trace a congregation moving, dividing and reuniting across the same grid of streets. Look for the church and imagine the earlier sanctuaries that stood nearby.
Take a moment to reflect on how much this coastline has endured. Texas City has faced both devastating storms and, later in the 20th century, a major industrial disaster, and each time the community rebuilt. The church's story fits that larger pattern of loss and renewal.
This stop pairs well with a visit to nearby Galveston, where you can explore more of the history of the 1900 storm and the Gulf Coast. Together they make a thoughtful coastal road trip about disaster, recovery and the communities that refused to give up. If the church is an active congregation, please be respectful of services and private activities.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Rev. E. L. Ashmore
- · Rev. F. Clyde Woodward
Related events
- · 1900 Galveston hurricane
Themes & tags
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