First United Methodist Church of Sherman
Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Sherman. Established in 1859 with the Rev. J. M. Binkley, pastor, the church was born of labors of circuit riders who braved this frontier area even before the county was organized. The first members worshipped under a brush arbor located on what is now the Sherman Public Square. The first permanent building, a frame structure, was erected in 1860. Located in the 300 block of South Travis Street, this building burned in 1885. For four years the congregation worshipped in the city opera house while a brick sanctuary was being erected on the original site. This structure was occupied in 1889 and used until 1910, when a new and larger domed edifice, located at North Travis and Mulberry streets, was occupied. For 44 years "Travis Street Methodist Church" served as a focal point of Methodist activity in Sherman and North Texas. To meet the needs of a growing congregation, the present structure was erected in 1955 (Mulberry and Elm streets) on property once belonging to Kidd-Key College, a Methodist school. The church was named "First Methodist Church." With denominational union in 1968, it became "First United Methodist Church."
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Sherman's first Methodist congregation grew from the labors of circuit-riding preachers who crossed this frontier even before Grayson County was formally organized, and it was established in 1859 with the Rev. J. M. Binkley. Its first members worshipped under a brush arbor on what became the public square before raising a frame church in 1860. Through fire, an opera-house exile, and a series of ever-larger sanctuaries, the congregation remained a hub of Methodist life in North Texas for well over a century.
Why it matters
The church's beginnings under a brush arbor capture the raw frontier phase of Texas settlement, when itinerant preachers carried organized religion to the edge of Anglo expansion.
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Related people
- · J. M. Binkley
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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