First Methodist Church of Allen

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in November of 1847, thirteen Methodist pioneers gathered at Joseph Russell's log cabin, not far from what we now call Allen, Texas. November the fifteenth, to be exact.

Russell's place sat south of Rowlett Creek, near what is today Jupiter Road, and on that day those thirteen souls organized themselves into a church. Thirteen. Not a dozen, not a crowd.

Thirteen people with enough conviction to start something in the middle of nowhere. Their services became part of the Dallas circuit, presided over by a rotating cast of traveling ministers riding the far reaches of Collin County. The congregation grew, as congregations tend to do, and by 1857 they had moved three miles to the west, holding meetings at the Spring Creek School once it was built.

Things were going along just fine, until the railroad arrived in 1876, and the church picked up and moved several miles away to Plano. That same year, 1876, the community the church had served all that time was organized under the name Allen. And so Allen had its name, and the Methodists had left.

That is the kind of irony Texas serves up with a straight face. Area Methodists were eager to get something going closer to home. Early meetings were most likely held in the Allen Schoolhouse, and then the Baptists, in a generous gesture, opened their church doors to let the Methodists worship independently.

The first known pastor for the Allen congregation was Rev. George S. Gatewood, a Methodist camp preacher and revivalist who held camp meetings under a brush arbor at Pegues Springs, southeast of town.

In 1884, the Methodist Church purchased a parcel of land, though whether a church was ever actually built on that site remains unclear to this day. A second plot was acquired on the corner of South Allen Drive and McDermott Road, and there a one-room church house was built in 1902. It took some damage in the nineteen-tens, a new building went up between 1917 and 1919, and that building was razed in 1965.

The current building on South Greenville Avenue was built in 1966. The first parsonage, still standing, was built on Butler Street and served until 1960. Now, any congregation that lasts that long is bound to count some remarkable people among its members, and this one does.

Dr. Malcom O. Perry II was part of this church family.

He was one of the surgeons who attended President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on November 22, 1963. That date lands with a weight no storyteller needs to add to.

From thirteen people in a log cabin on a November day in 1847, to a doctor standing in an emergency room on another November day more than a century later, this congregation has been woven into the fabric of something much larger than itself.

What the marker says

Methodists were among the earliest settlers in Collin County. A group of thirteen pioneers met at Joseph Russell's log cabin close to present-day Allen on November 15, 1847 and organized a church. Russell's home was located south of Rowlett Creek near present-day Jupiter Road. The church services became part of the far-reaching Dallas circuit and were presided over by multiple traveling ministers. The growing congregation moved three miles to the west and conducted meetings at the Spring Creek School when it was built in 1857. However, when the railroad came through in 1876, the church was moved several miles away to Plano. The community, which the church had served, was organized as Allen in 1876. Area Methodists were eager to establish a church closer to their community. Early meetings were most likely held in the Allen Schoolhouse, but soon after, the Baptists opened their church doors to let the Methodists worship independently. The first known Allen pastor was Methodist camp preacher and revivalist Rev. George S. Gatewood, who held camp meetings under a brush arbor at Pegues Springs, southeast of town. The Methodist Church purchased a parcel of land in 1884, but it is unclear if a church was built on this site. A second plot they bought was on the corner of S. Allen Dr. And McDermott Rd., and a one-room church house was built there in 1902. Damaged in the 1910s, a new building was constructed between 1917-19, and was razed in 1965. The current building on S. Greenville Ave. was built in 1966. The first parsonage, which is still standing, was built on Butler Street and used until 1960. A notable member of the congregation was Dr. Malcom O. Perry II, one of the surgeons who attended President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on November 22, 1963.