Thomas Chapel United Methodist Church
Willis, Montgomery County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1867 as the Thomas Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this congregation is the oldest in Willis and pre-dates the founding of the community. Worship services were held in log and frame buildings and brush arbors before this building was completed in 1899 during the pastorate of the Rev. Edward Lee. Elements of the Gothic Revival style, a style commonly used in church buildings, include the large Gothic window on the front façade, smaller Gothic windows above the entrance, and the square bell tower. It has been a center of community and spiritual life for more than 100 years. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1867 as Thomas Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this is the oldest congregation in Willis—older than the town itself. Worshippers gathered in log and frame buildings and brush arbors until the present Gothic Revival church, with its large pointed-arch windows and square bell tower, was completed in 1899. For well over a century it has been a center of community and spiritual life.
Why it matters
A congregation that predates its own town, it embodies how frontier churches often laid the first stone of community before the settlements grew up around them.
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Related people
- · Edward Lee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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