Oaklawn United Methodist Church
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
An Oak Lawn settler, the Rev. Marcus H. Cullum (1822 - 1885), preached in a grove on Turtle Creek until citizens built a school-church house here on site given by the Dickason-Sale family. At opening of that building, Sept. 20, 1874, the Rev. M. H. Cullum founded the Oak Lawn Methodist Episocopal Church, South. A larger building with spires was erected in 1889. The present structure was built 1911-15, and enlarged in 1928 and 1950. Church name has been altered by changes in national organization. Membership has grown from 20 in 1874 to more than 2,000.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Rev. Marcus H. Cullum first preached in a grove along Turtle Creek before Oak Lawn settlers built a combined school and church house on donated land. There, in September 1874, he founded what became Oaklawn Methodist. A grander spired building followed in 1889, and the present structure rose between 1911 and 1915, growing alongside a congregation that swelled from twenty members to more than two thousand.
Why it matters
The church charts the growth of Dallas from a scattered settlement into a major city, with a single congregation mirroring that expansion over a century.
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Related people
- · Marcus H. Cullum
Themes & tags
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