First United Methodist Church and Cemetery of Mont Belvieu
Mont Belvieu, Chambers County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After Amos and Ann Barber settled in the vicinity in 1849, the village became known as Barbers Hill. Early preaching services were held in the Barbers' home. Captain Robert S. Dingham, a seaman, began a Sunday School and preached in the area. In 1877"Barbers Chapel" was officially organized as a Methodist Episcopal Church, south. The Barbers gave four acres for a church house and school building. In 1878 the 17 charter members erected the schoolhouse which also served for worship and as a community center. The Rev. P. E. Nicholson was the first pastor and Captain Dingham was officially licensed to preach. The original church site was traded for this location n 1895. A 30' x 40' church house was completed in 1897. Because the Fisher family made the largest contribution toward the new structure, the church was known for a time as "Fisher's Chapel." While the church house was being built, a family needed a burial site for a child and the cemetery was opened. There are 495 gravesites with 245 interments. This sanctuary was erected in 1932 by adding onto the existing structure. The fellowship hall was built in 1945 and the education wing in 1957.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After Amos and Ann Barber settled here in 1849, the area became known as Barbers Hill, and early preaching took place in their home before Captain Robert S. Dingham began a Sunday School. In 1877 the congregation organized as Barbers Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Barbers gave four acres for a church and school. A cemetery opened when a family needed a burial site during construction, and the sanctuary grew through additions in 1932, 1945, and 1957.
Why it matters
Church, school, and cemetery here grew from a single pioneer family's land, showing how one settlement's institutions took shape around its founders.
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Related people
- · Amos Barber
- · Ann Barber
- · Robert S. Dingham
- · Rev. P. E. Nicholson
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Amos Barber Homesite and Cemetery
Mont Belvieu, TX
Louisiana-born Amos Barber settled this rise—first called "Big Hill," then "Barber's Hill"—in 1849, hauling logs by ox-drawn sled to build a two-story dog-trot cabin surrounded by orchards and plantation land. Standing on the main road from Huntsville to Lynchburg, the Barber home welcomed travelers including Sam Houston and Ashbel Smith. Barber and his wife lie in the family cemetery still tended by their descendants, and the community that grew here became Mont Belvieu.
Henry and Amelia Griffith
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Pennsylvania native Henry Griffith and his Louisiana-born wife Amelia "Milly" Barrow settled this area in 1826, when it was still under Mexican rule, receiving a land grant in the Atascosito District where they farmed and raised cattle. In 1835 Griffith sold land including the "big hill" that his deed dubbed "Mont Bellview"—the origin of the name Mont Belvieu. Living under the flags of Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States, Griffith even served as a Reconstruction-era sheriff before his death in 1869.
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