Pleasant Retreat United Methodist Church
Tyler, Smith County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church was organized as early as 1854 when a deed for 2.5 acres was issued to the board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. According to oral history, the congregation first met in a log cabin on the property. The structure served as both church and school. Originally called the Black Fork Church, the congregation was known as Pleasant Retreat Society in 1861 and was renamed Pleasant Retreat Church by 1875. African Americans were included among the church membership from its early days. In June 1877, the church acquired land on which the Pleasant Retreat Cemetery was later established. In July, William T. McClure, recognized as an early leader of the congregation, deeded 5.9 acres of land on which the church held popular camp meetings each August. In 1897 a white frame church building was erected near the camp meeting tabernacle. The building served until 1928 when fire damage prompted the membership to build a new brick building on Dixie Drive on land donated by member Walter E. Beaird. In 1938 a full-time preacher was appointed. The congregation continued to grow, its facilities expanding as necessary. Renamed the Pleasant Retreat United Methodist Church in 1968, the church in the heart of the rose fields of Tyler continues a long tradition of worship and community service. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized as early as 1854 on land deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this congregation first met in a log cabin that doubled as a school. Known first as Black Fork Church and then as Pleasant Retreat, it counted African Americans among its membership from its earliest days and held popular August camp meetings on donated land. After fire damaged its 1897 frame building, the members raised a brick church in 1928 and the congregation continues today amid Tyler's rose fields.
Why it matters
The church's long history—and its interracial membership in the antebellum and post-Civil War South—reflects the central place of faith in binding a rural Texas community across generations.
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Related people
- · William T. McClure
- · Walter E. Beaird
Related events
- · Camp meetings
Themes & tags
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