First United Methodist Church of Ganado
Ganado, Jackson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Although this church was formally organized in 1880 by the Reverend M. A. Black and the Reverend T. R. Stewart, Methodists, under the leadership of S. C. A. Rodgers, Had been meeting in this area for some time. Religious observances began with brush arbor meetings and early morning services held in the Ganado area. The congregation included both Anglo and African Americans. The first church building was a chapel constructed of hewn logs that also was used as a school-house. Circuit-riding ministers traveled on horseback to serve this community and others in the region. In May 1895 trustees for the church purchased land at East Devers and Second streets, and a white frame sanctuary was erected by the end of the year. An arbor was attached to the back of the church for outdoor services as weather permitted. By 1927 the membership had outgrown the frame church, and in 1928 they built a larger brick sanctuary at Third and Devers streets. A spacious new church building was completed here in 1959. The congregation provides traditional programs for it's members and outreach activities for the area. The church continues to be an integral part of the community as it has for more than a century. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Methodists were gathering for brush-arbor and early-morning services around Ganado well before this congregation formally organized in 1880. Its first log building doubled as a schoolhouse, circuit-riding preachers served it on horseback, and its early worshippers included both Anglo and African American members. Successive sanctuaries—frame in 1895, brick in 1928, and a new building in 1959—trace the community's growth over more than a century.
Why it matters
Frontier congregations like this were often the first institutions to knit scattered settlers into a lasting community.
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Related people
- · M. A. Black
- · T. R. Stewart
- · S. C. A. Rodgers
Themes & tags
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