Grace Methodist Church
Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Methodist missionary efforts in this area date to the late 1830s. Circuit-riding ministers served Methodists in Palestine from the time of its founding as the Anderson County seat in 1848. In 1850 church members built a frame sanctuary and in November of that year the East Texas Conference was held in the new building, named Bascom Chapel in honor of an early Methodist bishop. The arrival of the railroad in 1872 resulted in a population boom for Palestine, and in 1884 a new church, named Centenary for the 100th anniversary of Methodism in the United States, was built. Three years later, the congregation divided to form the present First United Methodist Church and Grace United Methodist Church. Initially called Methvin Chapel in honor of the Rev. Alex Methvin, this congregation built Howard Avenue Methodist Church in 1898. After it burned in 1913, a new sanctuary was constructed at this site and named Grace Methodist Church. Long a supporter of local and foreign missionary efforts, Grace United Methodist Church continues to serve the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. (1995)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Circuit-riding Methodist preachers served Palestine from its founding as the Anderson County seat in 1848, and by 1850 members had raised a frame chapel that hosted the East Texas Conference that same year. The railroad's arrival in 1872 spurred a population boom, and in 1887 the growing congregation split, one branch becoming what is today Grace United Methodist Church. After an early sanctuary burned in 1913, the present church was built and named Grace.
Why it matters
The story of circuit riders giving way to permanent churches — then dividing as the railroad swelled the town — mirrors how faith and growth reshaped frontier communities across 19th-century America.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Methodism reached this part of East Texas early. Missionary work in the area dates to the late 1830s, during the years of the Republic of Texas. In those days Methodist preaching usually came from circuit riders, ministers on horseback who traveled long routes and held services in homes, groves and schoolhouses. A settlement might see a preacher only every few weeks, but the circuit system brought religion to the most remote places on the frontier.
Palestine was founded in 1848 as the seat of the newly created Anderson County, and circuit riders served its Methodists from the start. Founding a county seat was a major event in frontier Texas. It brought a courthouse, lawyers, merchants and steady traffic, and it gave a young town a reason to build permanent institutions.
The next big change came in 1872 with the railroad. As in many Texas towns, the rails brought a population boom, new businesses and new residents. Growth on that scale reshaped churches, which needed more space and sometimes divided as congregations outgrew a single building.
People & events
By 1850, only two years after the town's founding, Palestine's Methodists had built a frame sanctuary. In November of that year the East Texas Conference, the regional governing body of the church, met in the new building. That was a remarkable honor for so young a town. The chapel was named Bascom Chapel, after an early Methodist bishop.
As the railroad brought new people in, the congregation built a new church in 1884. It was named Centenary for the 100th anniversary of Methodism in the United States, which American Methodists dated to the founding of their church as an organized denomination in 1784. Three years later, in 1887, the growing congregation divided into two bodies. One became the present First United Methodist Church, and the other the congregation now known as Grace United Methodist Church.
This congregation was first called Methvin Chapel, in honor of the Rev. Alex Methvin. In 1898 it built the Howard Avenue Methodist Church. Disaster came in 1913 when that building burned. The members rebuilt at this site and gave their new sanctuary the name Grace. Since then the congregation has been known for supporting local and foreign missions and for its worship, education and outreach work in Palestine.
Its place in the American story
Grace Methodist's history follows how American Protestantism moved west. First came the circuit riders, who made Methodism one of the fastest-growing religious movements in nineteenth-century America. Then came the permanent chapels, and then larger churches as towns grew. Palestine went through all three stages in less than fifty years.
The railroad's role is just as typical. Across the country the arrival of the rails changed small towns quickly, and churches changed with them. A congregation dividing in two during a boom was usually a sign of success rather than conflict, since it meant there were simply too many members for one church.
The Centenary name connects this East Texas congregation to a national celebration. In the 1880s Methodists across the United States marked a century of organized American Methodism with new buildings, fundraising and commemorations. Naming a Palestine church Centenary placed the town's believers within a story that stretched back to the earliest days of the republic.
If you visit
Look for the Texas Historical Commission marker at the present church, the sanctuary built after the 1913 fire. The building itself is part of the story. It shows a congregation that lost its church to fire and chose to rebuild rather than give up.
Palestine rewards a slow wander. It's one of the older towns in East Texas, and its downtown and historic neighborhoods hold reminders of the railroad era that transformed it. As you walk, think about the town's progression from circuit riders on horseback to a frame chapel hosting a church conference to brick sanctuaries for a booming railroad town.
Palestine fits naturally into an East Texas road trip through the region's piney woods and small historic towns. If you're interested in the history of religion on the frontier, it's worth knowing that First United Methodist and Grace share the same roots. Together they trace a story that began with traveling preachers in the 1830s.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Alex Methvin
Themes & tags
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Anderson County was created from Houston County on March 24, 1846, and organized that July with Palestine as its seat, just months after Texas joined the Union. It was named to honor Kenneth Lewis Anderson, who had served as vice-president of the Republic of Texas in its final years.