Meadowbrook Methodist Church
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation traces its original to the establishment in 1911 of the Sycamore Heights Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Sagamore Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, South. These two small mission congregations, initially led by theology student Alonzo Monk, Jr., were located in the Meadowbrook section of the former Polytechnic Community of eastern Fort Worth. Having outgrown their respective facilities by 1925, the two churches, located within the same residential district, merged in 1928 to form the Meadowbrook Methodist Episcopal Church, South. That year, 475 charter members held their first church services in a newly built two-story frame sanctuary located in the 3900 block of Meadowbrook Drive. The Rev. Jesse Herman Baldridge was the congregation's First Pastor. In 1939 the Meadowbrook Methodist Episcopal Church, South, became the Meadowbrook Methodist Episcopal Church. The frame building was converted to a Sunday school and a new Gothic-style stone sanctuary was completed in 1949. Subsequent building programs over the next two decade resulted in the improvement of classroom facilities and the construction of a fellowship hall. Meadowbrook United Methodist Church continues to serve the community with a variety of programs. (1993)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation grew from two small Methodist mission churches planted in eastern Fort Worth in 1911, first led by theology student Alonzo Monk, Jr. Having outgrown their buildings, they merged in 1928 as Meadowbrook Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and 475 charter members first worshipped in a new frame sanctuary on Meadowbrook Drive. A Gothic-style stone sanctuary followed in 1949 as the suburban community around it grew.
Why it matters
It traces the familiar arc of American Protestant congregations in the early automobile-suburb era — small missions consolidating and building outward as a neighborhood matured around them.
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Related people
- · Alonzo Monk, Jr.
- · Jesse Herman Baldridge
Themes & tags
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