First United Methodist Church of Van Alstyne
Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Outgrowth of Liberty Class, formed 1847 for Bible study and worship, in log cabin of Jim Creager (1.25 mi. S) by the Rev. Joab Biggs, of the Dallas Methodist circuit, and M. F. Cole. In 1855, after a rainstorm that detained quarterly conference delegates to listen to an all-night sermon, the Rev. Y. S. McKinney preached for three weeks and had 60 conversions. The enlarged class moved to Mantua, where it built a frame chapel on the town square and was renamed Mt. Zion Methodist Church. At founding of Van Alstyne on Houston & Texas Central Railroad in 1873, Mt. Zion moved its building into town, to a site now in Van Alstyne Cemetery. By 1890 membership exceeded 400. The congregation in 1893 moved again, erecting a larger building at Waco and Jefferson streets, and changing name to First Methodist Church. In this sanctuary in 1894 there was organized the first district Epworth League of the Southern Methodist Church. Here in 1912 ex-president Theodore Roosevelt gave an address, and in 1917 one of Texas' earliest Boy Scout troops was formed. Present sanctuary was completed and dedicated in 1917, with dedicatory sermon given by the Rev. Sam R. Hay. The present name was given after a national ecumenical accord was reached in 1968. Incise on back: This historical marker given to the glory of God by Mr. and Mrs. Rea A. Nunnallee.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation grew from an 1847 Bible-study class held in a settler's log cabin, gathering strength through a legendary three-week revival in 1855 before moving with the railroad to the new town of Van Alstyne in 1873. It hosted the first district Epworth League of the Southern Methodist Church in 1894 and, in 1912, an address by former president Theodore Roosevelt; one of Texas' earliest Boy Scout troops formed here in 1917, the same year the present sanctuary was dedicated. The modern name followed the national Methodist union of 1968.
Why it matters
Spanning from a frontier cabin to a visit by a former U.S. president, the church's story tracks the maturing of a North Texas community across more than a century of American life.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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