Uvalde Methodist Church
Uvalde, Uvalde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. Thomas Myers organized this congregation in 1856, soon after the town of Uvalde was founded. At that time, this was the Western limit of the Methodist Ministry in Texas. Early members of the Uvalde congregation included the Dillard, Pulliam, Nunn, Burchfield, Robinson, and Griner Families. H.W. Griner served as first Sunday school Superintendent. The church held services in the courthouse, the school building, and the park until a sanctuary was built about 1859-60 on Garden Street on land deeded by Reading Black, founder of Uvalde. Another sanctuary was built on Getty Street about 1882 at a site conveyed by the G.T. Nunn Family. Construction of the present sanctuary in 1907-08 was overseen by Building Committee members D.W. Barnhill, Harry Hornby,Sr., and J.G. Smyth. The 1909 and 1916 sessions of the West Texas Annual Conference were held here. The early congregation brought stability, leadership, and spiritual values to an unsettled frontier. Through the years the members have continued to seek those goals and enlarge their scope of service. 1985
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1856 by the Rev. Thomas Myers just as the town of Uvalde was taking shape, this congregation marked the western frontier of Methodist ministry in Texas. Early members worshipped in the courthouse, schoolhouse, and open park until a first sanctuary rose about 1859–60 on land deeded by town founder Reading Black, followed by others in 1882 and the present 1907–08 building. The church twice hosted the West Texas Annual Conference, in 1909 and 1916.
Why it matters
Frontier congregations like this one anchored fragile new settlements, bringing organization and continuity to the edge of Anglo-American Texas as it pushed westward.
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Related people
- · Rev. Thomas Myers
- · Reading Black
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Presbyterian Church of Uvalde
Uvalde, TX
In 1881 the Western Texas Presbytery sent the Rev. James R. Bridges into a vast and often dangerous frontier field stretching across Bandera, Brackettville, Del Rio, and the Nueces and Frio canyons. With the help of newly arrived Presbyterian families, he organized the Uvalde church in February 1882, meeting first in the Methodist building before raising one of their own. Storms, world war, and changing pastors followed, but the congregation grew steadily through the twentieth century.
Captain William Benson
Uvalde, TX
Maryland native William Benson trained as a civil engineer, then turned to teaching after settling in Brazoria County. During the Civil War he commanded a cavalry regiment as one of the youngest captains in the Confederacy before moving west to Uvalde, where he again took up the schoolroom. Around 1874 he and his wife Felicia settled on this site, living in a log house until their permanent home was finished about 1881, and Benson became a leader in the region's early irrigation efforts until his death in 1922.
Grand Opera House
Uvalde, TX
Built in 1891 by local investors to host professional touring troupes, the Grand Opera House brought musicals, dramas, and home-talent plays to frontier Uvalde. Its programs became social events marked by lavish dress and lively parties, and its copper roof and corbeled bay-window tower gave the town a touch of urban elegance. It later passed into the ownership of former U.S. Vice President John Nance Garner and his family.
Uvalde County
Uvalde, TX
Organized in 1850, Uvalde County took its name from a nearby canyon honoring the Spanish army captain Juan de Ugalde, whose surname softened over the years into 'Uvalde.' Ranching country famous for its honey, it counts old Spanish missions, frontier forts, and a Ranger camp among its historic sites, and it was home to John Nance Garner, the first Texan elected Vice President of the United States.