Ebenezer Methodist Church

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Harrison County. This congregation has been gathering on this very ground since 1867, and that's not a detail you gloss over. The site itself has been a place of worship for a hundred years, and the church that stands here today is the third building to rise on it, each one a chapter in a story longer than most Texas institutions can claim.

The first church was built and occupied in 1868, when the pastor was the Reverend Elijah Blair. Think about that. The ink on the end of the Civil War was barely dry, and this community was already raising walls and calling a congregation together.

The second church came up in 1892, under the Reverend Thomas Cole, a new building for a new generation taking root on the same ground. Then the Reverend A. J.

Newton began the drive for a third church. That drive. That push.

It takes a particular kind of resolve to start something you may not finish, and sure enough, it was the Reverend J. F. Cox who saw that third building completed, in 1958.

Three churches across nearly a century, and behind each one a board chairman steady enough to hold the whole effort together. Mitchell Kendall in the first building era, S. S.

Reid in the second, and Dr. T. L.

Hunter in the third. Now, in a century-long career, this church has had forty-two pastors. Forty-two.

Some congregations can't name five. At the centennial, the pastor is the Reverend Simon Snell, and the chairman of trustees is Dr. N.

H. Anderson. And here's the line that lands with real weight.

Ebenezer has been recognized as the home church of three bishops. Willis J. King, J.

B. Scott, and E. W.

Kelly. Three bishops, all rooted right here on this ground that the congregation first claimed in 1867. That's not a footnote.

That's a legacy.

What the marker says

On site used since 1867 for worship. First church was built and occupied 1868 when pastor was the Rev. Elijah Blair; second, 1892, under the Rev. Thomas Cole. The Rev. A. J. Newton began drive for third church, completed in 1958 under the Rev. J. F. Cox. Board chairmen in building eras were Mitchell Kendall, S. S. Reid, and Dr. T. L. Hunter. In century-long career, church has had 42 pastors. At centennial, pastor is the Rev. Simon Snell; chairman of trustees is Dr. N. H. Anderson. Ebenezer has been recognized as home church of bishops Willis J. King, J. B. Scott, and E. W. Kelly. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967