Maud United Methodist Church
Maud, Bowie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized as a mission by the Rev. Thomas Jefferson Milam of Old Boston, on farm of Jesse M. Ball, Three Springs community, Aug. 10, 1874. Original meetinghouse was built immediately on Ball's property. Samuel D. Knapp (1841?-1922), a charter member, founded town of Maud, and was its first postmaster. He donated present site, and the building was moved here in 1880. The mission became a church in 1897. A tornado razed second building in 1914. Present sanctuary, fourth for the church, was erected in 1940 with funds given by Miss Jennie Tapp, and was enlarged in 1956. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized as a mission in 1874 by a circuit-riding Methodist minister on a farm in the Three Springs community, this congregation built its first meetinghouse right away on the Ball family's land. Charter member Samuel D. Knapp went on to found the town of Maud and serve as its first postmaster, donating the site to which the building was moved in 1880. The mission became a full church in 1897, and after a tornado and several rebuildings the present sanctuary went up in 1940.
Why it matters
Maud's church shows the tight weave between faith and town-building in rural Texas, where the same settlers who raised a sanctuary also platted the streets and carried the mail.
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Related people
- · Samuel D. Knapp
- · Thomas Jefferson Milam
Themes & tags
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