Two Miles Southeast to McMahan's Chapel
Geneva, Sabine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The oldest Methodist church having a continuous existence in Texas. Organized as a "religious society," September 1833 by the Reverend James P. Stevenson, 1808-1885, as a Methodist Church, July 1834 by the Reverend Henry Stephenson. First building was completed in 1839. Displaced by a new building in 1872 and again in 1900.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized as a religious society in 1833 and formally as a Methodist church in 1834, McMahan's Chapel is the oldest Methodist congregation in continuous existence in Texas. Its first log building rose in 1839, replaced by later structures as the frontier community grew, keeping an unbroken thread of worship reaching back to the days before Texas independence.
Why it matters
As the mother church of Texas Methodism, McMahan's Chapel marks the arrival of organized Protestant faith on the Anglo-American frontier of the 1830s.
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Related people
- · James P. Stevenson
- · Henry Stephenson
Themes & tags
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