Liberty Methodist Church
Liberty, Liberty County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Late in 1840, the Rev. Hugh Fields, migrating to Texas from Mississippi, preached the first Methodist sermon in Liberty in the log courthouse. Liberty was one of 17 communities in the Republic of Texas to receive a ministerial appointment from the newly organized Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church meeting in Dec. 1840. The Rev. John C. Woolam was named in the spring of 1841 to serve this congregation, the oldest church organization in Liberty County. Members worshiped at the Courthouse, in home or brush arbors until 1846, when they built a log church. After it was destroyed by a storm, the congregation moved to its present location and built a one-room frame structure in 1854. The church acquired a bell in 1873 from the steamboat "Black Cloud", which sank in the Trinity River. This bell is still in use. In 1904 a new two-room frame edifice was constructed. It was replaced in 1930 by a two-story brick structure, which became an education building after a new sanctuary was erected in 1953. This congregation participates in many community events, including the "Brotherhood Banquet", sponsored by the men's Bible class since 1927 and supported by persons of all faiths.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Late in 1840 the Rev. Hugh Fields preached the first Methodist sermon in Liberty inside the log courthouse, and the young Texas Conference named Liberty one of just 17 Republic of Texas communities to receive a minister. Worshipers met in the courthouse, homes, and brush arbors until they built a log church in 1846, then rebuilt after a storm. The congregation still rings a bell salvaged in 1873 from the sunken Trinity River steamboat Black Cloud.
Why it matters
As the oldest church organization in Liberty County, the congregation embodies how frontier faith communities took root alongside the institutions of the Republic of Texas.
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Related people
- · Hugh Fields
- · John C. Woolam
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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