First Methodist Church of Diboll

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back around 1897, not long after Diboll got its start as a sawmill town, a congregation began to take shape. Now, these were folks who didn't have a grand sanctuary to gather in, not yet anyway.

They made do. Worship services went up in a local schoolhouse, and for a time they shared a two-story structure with the local Baptist congregation and a handful of fraternal organizations. Picture that.

Methodists, Baptists, and lodge brothers all under the same roof, making it work the way people do when a town is still finding its footing. Then 1914 rolled around, and the church leaders made their move. They acquired this very site by lease and built their first true sanctuary that same year.

Eight years later, in 1922, the land was deeded outright to the congregation. No more leasing. It was theirs.

And as the membership kept growing, additional facilities were built to keep pace. What strikes me about this place, though, is the line the marker saves for last. The church still counts among its members descendants of some of its founding families.

The sawmill town has changed plenty since 1897, but some things, it turns out, hold.

What the marker says

This congregation was founded about 1897, soon after Diboll was established as a sawmill town. Early worship services were held in a local schoolhouse and in a two-story structure shared with the local Baptist congregation and fraternal organizations. Church leaders acquired this site by lease in 1914 and built their first sanctuary that year. The land was deeded to the congregation in 1922, and additional facilities were later built to accommodate the growing membership. The church still counts among its members descendants of some of its founding families. (1991)