First Methodist Church of Denton

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it: my job's just to do it justice. Now, some things in Texas are born at exactly the right moment. The First Methodist Church of Denton didn't just happen to arrive early; it arrived at the very beginning.

The Rev. William E. Bates organized it in 1857, the same year the town of Denton itself was formed.

Think about that. The town and the church came into the world together, like they had an arrangement. Of course, when you're starting a town from scratch, you don't exactly have a sanctuary waiting on you.

So services were conducted in the log courthouse. Whatever the Lord required, the log courthouse provided. That arrangement held until 1859, when the Masonic lodge of Denton constructed a two-story building, and that building became something of a community Swiss Army knife.

It served as a school, a meeting hall, and it was used by all the area churches. Nobody in early Denton was too proud to share a good roof. The congregation kept growin', kept meeting, and finally in 1873 the Methodists built their first proper meeting house.

White frame construction, a steeple reaching up toward the sky, and a bell (which, if you've ever heard a church bell carry across a Texas morning, you understand why that detail made it onto the marker). Then came 1899, and the congregation set its sights on something grander: a red brick sanctuary. Now, funds for that building were raised in part at a revival conducted by an evangelist named Abe Mulkey.

Whatever Abe Mulkey said from that revival stage, it was apparently persuasive enough to build a church out of brick. But here's the thing about a congregation that keeps finding its way to the pew; it keeps growin'. By 1907, more than six hundred members had outgrown that red brick sanctuary.

Six hundred people. That is not a small problem. And yet, the new building didn't come until 1925, when a church with a seating capacity of two thousand four hundred was completed.

Two thousand four hundred seats. Whatever the intervening years required of those members by way of patience, they delivered. An education building followed in 1951, and renovations have continued over the years since.

Many prominent citizens of Denton have counted themselves members here. The church has supported local and foreign missions, offered programs for the congregation, and worked through social outreach that served the broader community. From a log courthouse in 1857 to two thousand four hundred seats, the town and the church arrived together, and from the looks of it, they've been keeping pace with each other ever since.

What the marker says

The Rev. William E. Bates organized the First Methodist Church of Denton in 1857, the same year the town of Denton was formed. Services were conducted in the log courthouse until the Masonic lodge of Denton constructed a 2-story building in 1859. It served as a school and meeting hall and was used by all the area churches. In 1873 the Methodist congregation built their first meeting house, which was a white frame church with a steeple and bell. Funds for a red brick sanctuary built in 1899 were raised in part at a revival conducted by evangelist Abe Mulkey. By 1907 the congregation of more than 600 members had outgrown its sanctuary, but another building was not constructed until 1925 when a new church building with a seating capacity of 2,400 was completed. An education building was added in 1951, and other renovations have taken place over the years. Many prominent citizens of Denton have been members of this church which has provided a variety of programs for the congregation and has supported local and foreign missions. It has served the community through several social outreach activities and continues to be an integral part of the Denton area. (1996)