Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Premont
Premont, Jim Wells County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Development of Premont began in 1904; the post office opened on January 13, 1909. Visiting ministers occasionally held church services in a surveyors' and land agents' bunkhouse. About 1910, Methodists erected the town's first church, a 30' x 60' stucco chapel, sharing it with other faiths. Sometimes open also to secular gatherings, that building was used in 1943-44 by the public school system. In 1954 an educational annex was built and in 1956 the old church was razed and present sanctuary erected on the original site. (1975)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The South Texas town of Premont sprang up around 1904, and by about 1910 its Methodists had raised the community's first church — a modest 30-by-60-foot stucco chapel shared with other faiths and, at times, with secular gatherings. During the Second World War the building even served the public schools in 1943-44. The old chapel was razed in 1956 and replaced by the present sanctuary on the same ground, a continuity of worship spanning the town's whole history.
Why it matters
In new railroad towns of the early 20th century, the first church often doubled as school, meeting hall, and civic anchor — the shared roof under which a frontier community became a town.
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