Matagorda Methodist Church
Matagorda County, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of the earliest Methodist churches in Texas. Founded January 6, 1839, by the Rev. Jesse Hord, a circuit rider who recorded that he came through "Black mud, a pouring down rain and a howling norther" to hold services in Matagorda. When he preached at "Early candle light" (dusk), four persons came forward to form the nucleus of the present church. The first church building was erected about 1851 but was destroyed by the great hurricane of 1854, which leveled almost every building in town. In 1869 worship was held in the county courthouse; in 1891 the present parsonage was built. In 1892 members decided they must have a proper church after being accidentally locked out of their meeting place -- the schoolhouse -- on a cold, rainy Thanksgiving Day. Long leaf yellow pine and cypress were brought in from Galveston and the present church was completed 1893. A Sunday school was soon founded by the Ladies' Aid Society. In 1927, Sunday School rooms, a kitchen, and study were built. In 1942, another hurricane and flood damaged, but did not destroy, the church. Today, though many improvements and new furnishings have been recently added, the original bible, bell, and hand-made cypress pews are still in service. (1968)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Matagorda Methodist Church traces its founding to January 1839, when circuit rider Jesse Hord pushed through "black mud, a pouring down rain and a howling norther" to preach in coastal Matagorda. Four worshippers came forward at candlelight to form its nucleus. The congregation weathered the devastating 1854 hurricane and later storms, completing its present pine-and-cypress church in 1893 — where the original Bible, bell, and hand-made pews still serve.
Why it matters
It stands among the oldest Methodist congregations in Texas, a testament to the circuit-riding faith that followed settlers to the frontier's edge.
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Related people
- · Jesse Hord
Related events
- · Hurricane of 1854
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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