Mansfield Methodist Church
Mansfield, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation was established in Mansfield in 1885 by 14 charter families who had migrated to Texas from other parts of the U.S. Worship services were held in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church until a one-room frame building was constructed on North First Street in 1890. The Mansfield church was named as head of circuit for the Methodist Church and the Rev. E.D.L. Tims was appointed as minister. The Mansfield congregation also built a large tabernacle in 1891 and shared it with other churches in town for summer revival meetings. A storm destroyed the one-room sanctuary in 1903. A larger edifice was built in 1904, and featured arched stained glass windows and a bell tower, and served the congregation until it burned in 1942. A brick church structure was completed in 1945, largely by community labor. Later, five acres were purchased on Pleasant Ridge and a larger facility was built and dedicated in 1981 to house the growing membership. The church has supported community service programs including boy scouts, outreach for those in need, missionary ministries, and Christian day care facilities. The first Methodist Church of Mansfield continues to serve the area as it has for more than 110 years. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fourteen charter families organized Mansfield's Methodist congregation in 1885, worshiping in the Cumberland Presbyterian church until a one-room frame sanctuary rose in 1890. Storms and fires claimed successive buildings before a brick church, raised largely by community labor, opened in 1945. The congregation later moved to a larger facility on Pleasant Ridge in 1981.
Why it matters
It records more than a century of a North Texas town's civic and religious life through fire, storm, and steady rebuilding.
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Themes & tags
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