La Trinidad United Methodist Church of Pharr
Pharr, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
THIS CHURCH, ORGANIZED IN 1913, IS THE SECOND OLDEST IN THE CITY AND THE FIRST TO MINISTER TO PHARR’S SPANISH-SPEAKING PROTESTANTS. AFTER A GROUP APPROACHED THE ANGLO METHODIST CHURCH WITH A DESIRE FOR THEIR OWN PLACE OF WORSHIP IN 1912, A SMALL CHURCH WAS CONSTRUCTED ON LAND GIVEN BY THE PHARR TOWNSITE COMPANY. ORIGINALLY “THE MEXICAN METHODIST CHURCH,” ITS NAME CHANGED IN THE 1940s TO “NORTH PHARR LATIN AMERICAN METHODIST CHURCH” AND THEN TO ITS CURRENT NAME IN 1970. A NEW PLOT OF LAND WAS ACQUIRED UPON WHICH A NEW SANCTUARY WAS BUILT IN 1959, FOLLOWED BY A LARGER FACILITY IN 1995. THE CHURCH PRIDES ITSELF IN ITS YOUTH GROUPS, OUTREACH PROGRAMS, AND SUPPORT TO OTHER MISSION CHURCHES.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1913 after a group of Spanish-speaking residents sought their own place of worship, this was the first congregation to minister to Pharr's Spanish-speaking Protestants and the second-oldest church in the city. Its early names—"The Mexican Methodist Church" and later "North Pharr Latin American Methodist Church"—trace shifting language about the Mexican-American community it served before it became La Trinidad in 1970. New sanctuaries in 1959 and 1995 marked its steady growth.
Why it matters
La Trinidad reflects the distinct religious life of Mexican-American Protestants in South Texas and how a congregation's changing name mirrored a century of evolving identity.
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