Wilson Chapel Methodist Church
Madisonville, Madison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1873 by the Rev. W. A. Parks and ten charter members, the Methodist Episcopal Church was the second African American church in Madisonville. Early worship services were held in members' homes and a brush arbor. In the absence of a minister, sermons were given by a member called an exhorter. Land was donated by Ed and Mary Burrell in 1888, and the first sanctuary was erected here in 1891. A white frame building replaced it in 1923. A brick structure was built in the 1960s. The church has served the area for more than 120 years.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1873 by the Rev. W. A. Parks and ten charter members, this was the second African American church in Madisonville, born in the uncertain years just after emancipation. Worship began in members' homes and a brush arbor, with sermons delivered by a lay exhorter when no minister was present, until land donated by Ed and Mary Burrell allowed a first sanctuary in 1891.
Why it matters
Churches like this were the anchoring institutions of freedpeople's communities across the postwar South, providing worship, education, and self-governance where little else was open to them.
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Related people
- · Rev. W. A. Parks
- · Ed Burrell
- · Mary Burrell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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