Aledo United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Aledo United Methodist Church in Parker County. Now settle in, because this one goes back a good ways, and it moves, just like the railroad that helped set the whole thing in motion. April 1878.

The Methodists of this part of Texas acquire an interest in a small frame structure. Nothing grand about it, just a modest building called Alma Hall, sitting in a settlement known as Alma, an 1870s-era community that history would come to regard as the precursor to Aledo. That's where the story starts.

Quiet, unassuming, a little congregation with a little building. But then came the Texas and Pacific Railway. When that line cut across Parker County in 1879, things began to shift, literally.

Alma Hall was picked up and moved to a nearby settlement forming along the tracks, a place that would later be called Aledo. The church followed the railroad, and from that point on, those two stories, town and congregation, would grow up together. By 1888, the land beneath that structure was purchased for forty dollars, northeast of North Front Street, which is the present site of the church to this day.

Forty dollars. You think about that number and what it bought. Then came the milestones, one after another, each one adding a little more weight to the story.

By 1890, the congregation had become the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Aledo. A belfry was added in 1900, someone wanted a bell, and they got one. By 1903, a Methodist Women's Home Mission Society had formed.

By 1916, another wing had been added to the building. The place kept growing, kept reaching. Then 1939, a big year for American Methodism.

Three major branches came together to form the Methodist Church, and with that union, the Aledo congregation became Aledo Methodist Church. In the 1940s, a man named E.D. Farmer donated funds that were used to build a stone parsonage.

They called it the Rock House, and that name alone tells you something about how people out here think, solid, plain-spoken, built to last. But the old frame structure that had been hauled across the county on the strength of railroad ambition? By 1952, it was razed.

Gone. And in its place rose something new, red brick, a sanctuary, classrooms, an office. The congregation wasn't looking backward.

Then 1968. The Methodist Church united with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church, and so the congregation took the name it carries today. Aledo United Methodist Church.

And still the story kept going. New sanctuaries were built in 1980 and again in 2003 to accommodate a congregation that just kept growing. A decision to construct an education building was made in 1990.

Each decade, a new chapter. Now here's a thing the marker makes sure to note, and it's worth sayin' out loud: the Aledo Methodist congregation was the first in the town to own a church building. First.

That matters in a community's memory. And that congregation has never really stopped showin' up, through an extensive volunteer network, through worship and presentations and gatherings open to the public, including a fall festival. Care, fellowship, support, outreach, that's the tradition the marker names, and it stretches all the way back to a forty-dollar plot of land and a little frame building that once had to pick itself up and follow the tracks to find its home.

What the marker says

Aledo United Methodist Church began in April 1878 when Methodists acquired an interest in a small frame structure named Alma Hall in Alma, an 1870s-era settlement considered the precursor to Aledo. With the advent of the Texas & Pacific Railway line across Parker County in 1879, Alma Hall was moved to a nearby settlement, later called Aledo, forming along the tracks. The structure was situated on land purchased for $40 in 1888, northeast of North Front Street, the present site of the church. The church became the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Aledo by 1890. A belfry was added in 1900, a Methodist Women's Home Mission Society formed by 1903, and another wing was added to the building by 1916. In 1939, when the three major branches of American Methodism formed the Methodist Church, the church became Aledo Methodist Church. In the 1940s, the church used funds donated by E.D. Farmer to construct a stone parsonage called the Rock House. In 1952, the old church structure was razed, and a new sanctuary, classrooms and an office were constructed of red brick. In 1968, the church became Aledo United Methodist Church when the Methodist Church united with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church. In 1980 and 2003, new sanctuaries were built to accommodate the growing congregation, and a decision to construct an education building was made in 1990. The Aledo Methodist congregation was the first in the town to own a church building. The church has an extensive volunteer network and welcomes the public through worship, presentations, and other gatherings including a fall festival. It has played a vital role in the establishment and growth of its community, offering a tradition of care, fellowship, support, and outreach. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836 - 2011