Allison Chapel United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in the early days of East Texas, a Methodist missionary by the name of the Reverend Littleton Fowler was riding these piney woods trails, and the marker says he is believed to have organized this congregation somewhere between 1837 and 1839. Now, that's deep frontier territory we're talking about.

No towns to speak of, no easy roads, just a preacher and a mission. The congregation that came together in those years went by the name Bethesda Church, and the land for that first sanctuary was donated by a man named Purviance Williams. That original site, by the way, is now the home of Old Williams Cemetery, sitting about a mile to the west of where you're standing today.

So the roots of this congregation go all the way down to the ground, literally. Then time rolled on, as it does. The name Bethesda Church eventually gave way to something new, something honoring a man named Samuel G.

Allison, who in 1882 gave the land for the present building site. And so the congregation became Allison Chapel United Methodist Church, the name it carries to this day. The marker puts it plainly and proudly: Allison Chapel United Methodist Church has traditionally been considered the oldest active church in all of Panola County.

A missionary, a frontier gathering, two donated pieces of land, and a name that changed once and then held. That's a long time to keep the doors open.

What the marker says

The Rev. Littleton Fowler, an early Methodist missionary in East Texas, is believed to have organized this congregation between 1837 and 1839. Land for the first sanctuary, now the site of Old Williams Cemetery (1 mi. W), was donated by Purviance Williams. The congregation was originally known as Bethesda Church, but the name was later changed to honor Samuel G. Allison, who gave land for the present building site in 1882. Traditionally, Allison Chapel United Methodist Church has been considered the oldest active church in Panola County.