United Methodist Church of Coolidge
Coolidge, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A pioneer church, organized in the Armour community, about two miles to the west, on April 10, 1973, when this area was still thinly-settled. Charter members were John and Caroline Askew, A. J. Moore, Leona Waddell, and George Walker. The original one room frame church building with a spire and belfry was erected in 1874. After the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad bypassed Armour, the congregation in 1904 moved its building to Coolidge. Under the leadership of the Rev. J. B. Curry and Hull Askew, a son of charter members, the present edifice was built in 1922. 1974
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Methodist congregation began in the thinly settled Armour community in 1873, its handful of charter members raising a one-room frame church with a spire and belfry the following year. When the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad bypassed Armour, the congregation simply moved its building to the new town of Coolidge in 1904, and in 1922 replaced it with the present edifice. The story traces how rail lines redrew the map of rural Texas, drawing settlement to the tracks.
Why it matters
The church that literally followed the railroad into a new town captures how the coming of the rails could make or unmake a Texas community almost overnight.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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