First United Methodist Church of DeKalb
De Kalb, Bowie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. William Stevenson led the pioneering efforts of Methodist circuit riders in northeast Texas in 1815. He preached on both sides of the Red River, although Protestant services were then illegal in the Spanish territory of Texas. Methodist "societies" began to spring up in this area in the 1820s and 1830s. Dr. J. W. P. McKenzie started a Methodist mission in DeKalb in 1836, just five years after the town was founded. This area was then considered part of Miller County, Arkansas. The Rev. John B. Denton, who served the church in 1837, was later killed in the Village Creek Indian Battle in Tarrant County. The city and county of Denton were named for him. The Methodists' first church building was a log structure which also served as a schoolhouse. It stood in the southeast corner of Old DeKalb Cemetery. After the arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad, the church moved to a new building at Fulton and Church St. in 1882. The Presbyterian and Christian churches also shared that facility. A Sunday School program was begun in 1883. The church moved to its present location in 1913 and has occupied three buildings here. Three Methodist congregations, Austin Chapel, Oak Grove, and Springhill, have merged with the fellowship. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Methodism reached this corner of northeast Texas with circuit rider William Stevenson, who preached along the Red River in 1815 even though Protestant worship was still illegal in Spanish Texas. A mission began in DeKalb in 1836, the year the town was founded, when the area was still reckoned part of Miller County, Arkansas. The first church was a humble log building that doubled as a schoolhouse, and the congregation followed the town's growth — moving with the arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad and again in 1913.
Why it matters
The church traces the frontier spread of American religion and the settlers who followed it westward, in a borderland where the very lines between Texas, Arkansas, and Spanish territory were still being drawn.
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Related people
- · William Stevenson
- · J. W. P. McKenzie
- · John B. Denton
Related events
- · Village Creek Indian Battle
Themes & tags
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