St. Andrews United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
St. Andrews United Methodist Church of Fort Worth In 1888, under the leadership of the Rev. James W. Moore, 15 men and women organized the St. Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. The church rehabilitated a building on Ninth Street and within a decade had a parsonage for its minister. Church programs, including a youth ministry, grew, and the congregation bought a larger structure on Rosedale, offering space for Southside Public School to hold classes. At the beginning of the 20th century, the congregation purchased a new parsonage and organized a Ladies Aid Society. The society's first president was Gracie Echols; she and the women's group worked to furnish the parsonage and raise funds for the ever-growing church, which continued to need room for expansion. Other fund-raising efforts included church bazaars, and the congregation added pews, pipe organ and pulpit furniture. In 1950, St. Andrews Methodist Church purchased the Missouri Avenue Methodist Church building, designed in 1904 by acclaimed Dallas architect James E. Flanders. The St. Andrews congregation held its first services in the yellow brick church in 1951. Over the years, church members have been strong supporters of education in the community and, early on, church facilities provided classroom space for an early black public school. A longtime minister and leader of the church, the Rev. Leonard L. Haynes, became the first African American to serve on the Tarrant County Junior College Board of Trustees, as it began its integration process in the mid to late 1960s. Church members have served as principals, nurses, doctors and civil rights leaders in Fort Worth. The congregation became the St. Andrews United Methodist Church in 1972, when churches nationwide merged into the United Methodist Church. With more than 100 years of service, St. Andrews has led its community through education, music, mission and worship.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fifteen men and women organized St. Andrews in 1888, growing a Fort Worth congregation that repeatedly lent its buildings for public schooling — including classes for an early Black public school. In 1950 the church acquired the 1904 James E. Flanders-designed Missouri Avenue building, and longtime pastor the Rev. Leonard L. Haynes became the first African American on the Tarrant County Junior College board as it integrated in the 1960s.
Why it matters
The church's role in educating Black Fort Worth and seating a Black trustee during integration ties a single congregation directly to the local civil-rights story.
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Related people
- · James W. Moore
- · Gracie Echols
- · Leonard L. Haynes
Themes & tags
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