United Methodist Church of Atlanta
Atlanta, Cass County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. J. Osgood organized the earliest members of the first United Methodist Church in 1873 under a brush arbor. On this site their first structure was built (1875) with an "amen corner" and a belfry on the neo-classic front. In the second church, erected in 1890, stained glass windows lit the sanctuary and a choir bay backed the pulpit. A brick edifice was erected in 1917 and dedicated in 1927 by Bishop Sam B. Hay of Houston. An education building was given as a memorial in 1938. The present church, seating 600, was built in 1953. Remodeling was carried out in 1956.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Methodists in Atlanta, Texas, first gathered under a brush arbor in 1873, then built a modest frame church with an "amen corner" and belfry in 1875. Successive sanctuaries—stained-glass in 1890, brick in 1917, and a 600-seat building in 1953—charted the congregation's growth alongside the town. Each new structure reflected the deepening roots of this East Texas community.
Why it matters
The church's building-by-building story mirrors the settlement and steady maturing of a Reconstruction-era East Texas town.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Pine Crest Cemetery
Atlanta, TX
On the highest ground in Atlanta, Texas, this cemetery was formally deeded to the city by Preston Rose Scott in 1887, though its earliest marked grave dates to 1878. A section once separated by a fence — now removed — held African American burials, the oldest that of R.A. Williams, who died in 1880. Later gifts of land let the graveyard grow into the place where descendants of the town's founders still honor their veterans and kin.
Mathews - Powell House
Queen City, TX
William Franklin Mathews, a Confederate veteran and farmer, built this Victorian residence in 1878 shortly after moving to the newly founded town of Queen City, where he prospered as a merchant. After passing through several owners, the house was bought in 1918 by Ross A. Powell, another local merchant, and it remains owned and preserved by a Powell descendant. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1973.
Laws Chapel Cemetery
Cass County, TX
This cemetery began as a family plot when Henry G. Law died in 1854, soon after his family moved to Cass County from Georgia. It grew into a community burial ground after his brother Richard donated six acres to the Laws Chapel Church in 1869, and was later shared with the nearby Piney Grove Baptist Church founded in 1887. Expanded in 1941, it still serves the area and holds generations of local pioneers, veterans, and families.
Law's Chapel Methodist Church
Atlanta, TX
George and Martha Law, pioneers from Georgia, founded this congregation in 1853, making it the first Protestant church in the area. Members began worshipping under a brush arbor, then in a log structure, before joining the Methodist Conference in 1859 and starting their lasting building in 1869.