Law's Chapel Methodist Church
Atlanta, Cass County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First Protestant church in area. Founded in 1853 by George Law and wife Martha, pioneers from Georgia. Members first worshipped under a brush arbor, then in a log structure. In 1859 joined Methodist Conference, began present building 1869. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George and Martha Law, pioneers from Georgia, founded this congregation in 1853, making it the first Protestant church in the area. Members began worshipping under a brush arbor, then in a log structure, before joining the Methodist Conference in 1859 and starting their lasting building in 1869.
Why it matters
It reflects how faith and frontier settlement advanced together across antebellum east Texas, with families building both communities and churches on newly opened land.
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Related people
- · George Law
- · Martha Law
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Laws Chapel Cemetery
Cass County, TX
This cemetery began as a family plot when Henry G. Law died in 1854, soon after his family moved to Cass County from Georgia. It grew into a community burial ground after his brother Richard donated six acres to the Laws Chapel Church in 1869, and was later shared with the nearby Piney Grove Baptist Church founded in 1887. Expanded in 1941, it still serves the area and holds generations of local pioneers, veterans, and families.
Cass County
Linden, TX
Carved from Bowie County land in 1846, Cass County took its name from Lewis Cass, a soldier-statesman who had pushed hard for annexing Texas into the Union. The county's loyalties turned sharply in 1861: swept up in secession fervor, residents renamed it "Davis" for Confederate president Jefferson Davis, only to restore the original name in 1871 after the war. Its seat shifted too, from the busy river port of Jefferson to centrally located Linden once Marion County was split off in 1860.
Pine Crest Cemetery
Atlanta, TX
On the highest ground in Atlanta, Texas, this cemetery was formally deeded to the city by Preston Rose Scott in 1887, though its earliest marked grave dates to 1878. A section once separated by a fence — now removed — held African American burials, the oldest that of R.A. Williams, who died in 1880. Later gifts of land let the graveyard grow into the place where descendants of the town's founders still honor their veterans and kin.
United Methodist Church of Atlanta
Atlanta, TX
Methodists in Atlanta, Texas, first gathered under a brush arbor in 1873, then built a modest frame church with an "amen corner" and belfry in 1875. Successive sanctuaries—stained-glass in 1890, brick in 1917, and a 600-seat building in 1953—charted the congregation's growth alongside the town. Each new structure reflected the deepening roots of this East Texas community.