First Methodist Church of Beeville

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1861, three years after Bee County was organized, a Methodist preacher by the name of Rev. Berry Merchant rode in from Corpus Christi and helped the Methodists of Beeville do something that would outlast just about everything else in this town.

They established the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Now, the ink was barely dry on that founding when things got lean. Between 1862 and 1870, it was circuit-riding preachers keeping the congregation alive, moving from place to place, and when the people of Beeville gathered to worship, they often did it inside Bee County's original courthouse.

Small wood-frame structure. Not exactly a cathedral, but it held the faithful. Then, in the early 1870s, the congregation put up their first real sanctuary, a wood-frame building of their own, planted right at the corner of Bowie and Monroe streets.

That was a milestone. But congregations grow, and ambitions grow with them. By 1904, they relocated to this very site and built something that turned heads: a Gothic structure, stained glass windows and all.

That building served the community for decades before a newer and larger worship facility replaced it in 1955. Now here's a thread worth followin through all those years. This congregation was tied to the Corpus Christi Methodist District almost continually, right up until 1891, when Beeville itself became a district headquarters.

They kept a district parsonage going until 1927, when the city was absorbed back into the Corpus Christi District once more. Even the name of the church changed with the times. Denominational mergers brought a new name in 1939, First Methodist Church, and then another in 1968, First United Methodist Church.

More than a hundred and sixty years of Sunday mornings, circuit riders and stained glass, courthouses and sanctuaries, and this congregation is still out here, still playing an active role in the religious life of Beeville. Some things in Texas, turns out, are built to last.

What the marker says

In 1861, three years after Bee County was organized, the Rev. Berry Merchant of Corpus Christi assisted Beeville Methodists in establishing the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Between 1862 and 1870, circuit-riding preachers ministered to the congregation, and worship services were often held in Bee County's original courthouse, a small wood-frame structure. The congregation erected its first sancturary, a wood-frame building, in the early 1870s at the corner of Bowie and Monroe streets. In 1904, the congregation relocated to this site and built a Gothic structure with stained glass windows. It was replaced with a newer and larger worship facility in 1955. The congregation was part of the Corpus Christi Methodist District almost continually until 1891, when Beeville itself became a district headquarters. A district parsonage was maintained until 1927, when the city again was absorbed into the Corpus Christi District. Denominational mergers caused the congregation to change its name to the First Methodist Church in 1939 and to the First United Methodist Church in 1968. It continues to play an active role in the religious life of this community. (1991)