Lynn Grove United Methodist Church
Navasota, Grimes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
THIS HISTORIC CHURCH DATES BACK TO THE LATE 1880s. IN 1888, ZACHARIAH SHELTON WEAVER, JOHN LANE SHINE AND CHARLES G. VICKERS, RESIDENTS OF THE COMMUNITY OF LYNN GROVE, FELT THE NEED FOR A PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR THEIR FAMILIES AND OTHERS LIVING IN THE AREA. JAMES H. MULDROW AGREED TO SELL ACREAGE FOR A CHURCH IN 1889. THE FIRST CHURCH SERVICES FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, WERE HELD UNDER A BRUSH ARBOR AND WERE CONDUCTED BY TRAVELING CIRCUIT RIDERS. A SIMPLE WOOD CHURCH BUILDING WAS COMPLETED IN 1893. THE PEWS, LECTERN, COMMUNION TABLE AND ALTAR RAILS WERE CONSTRUCTED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. PASTOR ROBERT W. ADAMS FROM THE COURTNEY-PLANTERSVILLE CIRCUIT GAVE THE FIRST SERMON. THE CHURCH CONTINUED TO PROSPER AS A PLACE OF WORSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP FOR THE COMMUNITY OF FARMERS TO COME TOGETHER. THE ORIGINAL BUILDING WAS USED FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS UNTIL THE DECISION WAS MADE TO BUILD A NEW CHURCH. THE OLD BUILDING WAS DISMANTLED IN 1947 AND THE MATERIALS WERE USED TO BUILD THE NEW STONE AND WOOD CHURCH. DURING CONSTRUCTION, THE CONGREGATION MET AT THE LYNN GROVE SCHOOL. IN 1948, THE BUILDING WAS COMPLETE WITH THE FIRST SERVICES HELD ON MOTHER’S DAY. MANY OF THE ORIGINAL PIECES FROM THE OLD CHURCH ARE STILL USED IN THE SANCTUARY, INCLUDING THE COMMUNION TABLE AND LECTERN. THE NAME OF THE CHURCH CHANGED IN 1939 TO THE METHODIST CHURCH AND IN 1968, IT CHANGED TO LYNN GROVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. OVER THE YEARS, THE CHURCH MADE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILDING AND THE CONGREGATION CONTINUED TO HELP EACH OTHER AND THOSE IN NEED.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the late 1880s a handful of Lynn Grove families decided their farming community needed a place to worship, and by 1889 they had secured land for a Methodist congregation that first met under a brush arbor led by traveling circuit riders. Members built and furnished a simple wooden church in 1893, then dismantled it in 1947 to reuse its timbers in a new stone-and-wood sanctuary, carrying forward original pieces like the communion table and lectern that are still in use.
Why it matters
The church traces the classic arc of frontier faith in rural America — from circuit-rider brush arbors to a settled congregation — and shows how a farming community built lasting institutions with its own hands.
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Related people
- · Zachariah Shelton Weaver
- · John Lane Shine
- · Charles G. Vickers
Themes & tags
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