Channing United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Now, out here on the High Plains of Hartley County, the town of Channing didn't ease into existence. It was organized in 1890 with a purpose, as a general headquarters and supplier for the vast XIT Ranch.

That's a big job for a fledgling town, and a fledgling town is exactly what it was. But even in a place that young, even in a place that raw, somebody was already thinking about something more than cattle and supply ledgers. The Channing Methodist Church was organized right there in that new town by the Reverend E.

T. Harrison. And the records, the actual records, indicate it was the first Methodist church north of the Canadian River.

The first one. North of that river, in all that open country, this was it. Now who were the people who showed up to make this thing real?

Well, consider the list. A. G.

Boyce, the manager of the XIT Ranch itself, was among the earliest members, along with his wife Annie and their daughter Bessie. You had Bertie Cherveny, a plumber. You had Jacob P.

McLain, keeper of the Rivers Hotel, and his wife Elizabeth. And you had Hereford cattle breeders James Powell and William and Marilla Powell. Ranch managers, hotelkeepers, tradesmen, breeders.

That's a congregation. The trustees got to work, purchased property on this very site in 1901, and the building was completed by the following year. Things stayed true to those founders for decades, and then in 1958, a fellowship hall and other additions came along, the church growing the way a long-standing community tends to grow, not in a hurry, but with intention.

The Channing United Methodist Church, the marker says, continues in the traditions of its founders. And out here, where the Canadian River marks a kind of invisible line in the land, that's not a small thing to say.

What the marker says

The town of Channing was organized in 1890 as a general headquarters and supplier for the vast XIT Ranch. The Channing Methodist Church was organized in the fledgling town by the Rev. E. T. Harrison. Records indicate that it was the first Methodist church north of the Canadian River. The earliest members were A. G. Boyce, manager of the XIT Ranch, his wife Annie and their daughter Bessie; Bertie Cherveny, a plumber; Jacob P. McLain, the Rivers Hotel keeper and his wife Elizabeth; and Hereford cattle breeders James Powell and William and Marilla Powell. Trustees for the church purchased property on this site in 1901 and the building was completed by the following year. A fellowship hall and other additions were made in 1958. The Channing United Methodist Church continues in the traditions of its founders. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964