The Old Methodist Churchyard
Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In Jan. 1839, the Rev. Isaac Strickland organized a Methodist Church whose members soon built a log meetinghouse on this site donated by founders of the town of Montgomery. The churchyard came into use for burials during the 1840s. When Pastor G. W. Rabb was dying in 1851, he requested burial beneath the altar of the frame church then being built to replace the log cabin. His grave and a monument commemorating pioneer circuit riders now (1976) mark the original Methodist Church site. The church and the nearby parsonage, which is said to have been the first Methodist parsonage built in Texas, were relocated in 1908. A tabernacle later erected beside the cemetery has also been demolished. A stone in this cemetery commemorates a soldier of the American Revolution who helped settle this county and died here. Churchyard burials included veterans of the War of 1812, the Texas War for Independence, Mexican War, and Civil War, as well as many other pioneers, state and county officials, merchants, ministers, and physicians. In some of the unmarked graves are travelers who died here among strangers. Although a new cemetery opened in 1868, this one was also used until no space remained.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In January 1839 the Rev. Isaac Strickland organized a Methodist church here, and its members raised a log meetinghouse on land donated by the founders of Montgomery. The churchyard filled with graves through the 1840s, and one dying pastor asked to be buried beneath the altar of the frame church replacing the cabin. Among those laid to rest are a soldier of the American Revolution and veterans of the War of 1812, the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War, and the Civil War, alongside pioneers, officials, and travelers who died among strangers.
Why it matters
The churchyard gathers into one small plot the veterans of five conflicts and the pioneers who built a Texas county, a layered record of early American Texas.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Isaac Strickland
- · G. W. Rabb
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Former Homesite of Joseph L. Bennett
Montgomery, TX
Joseph L. Bennett came to Texas in 1834 and, when revolution broke out, raised a company of local volunteers and marched toward the Alamo in early 1836, turning back only on learning the fort had fallen. He joined Sam Houston's army and, as lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Regiment, fought at San Jacinto. Rewarded with land grants, he went on to command frontier defense, serve two terms in the Republic of Texas Congress, and carry the mail before dying in 1848.
Magnolia Cemetery
Magnolia, TX
In use for decades before Tom J. Goodson and his wife Winnie May deeded it to the Baptist church in 1909, this burial ground later grew through gifts of land from their son and from local sawmill owner C.H. Daniel. Its earliest marked graves belong to the brothers James and William Proctor, who died just days apart in 1878 for reasons now forgotten. Buried here are veterans of the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam—generations of the Magnolia community.
Site of Former Town of Danville
Willis, TX
Founded before 1840 in a rich plantation district, Danville grew into a thriving trade center with fifteen businesses, churches, and good schools. When its leaders refused right-of-way to the Houston & Great Northern Railway in the 1870s, commerce fled to the new railroad town of Willis, and Danville faded until only Sheperd Hill Cemetery remained. Among its people was Jonathan Lindley, who died defending the Alamo in March 1836.
Andrew Jackson Montgomery
Stoneham, TX
Andrew Jackson Montgomery came to Texas in 1819 with the ill-fated James Long Expedition and, by 1823, opened a trading post where two Indian trails crossed — becoming the first known settler in what is now Montgomery County. The town and county both grew from that post and took his family name. He later fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, married Mary Mahulda Farris, and raised nine children.