First Methodist Church of Garland

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one behind the wheel. Way back in 1855, eighteen charter members came together and organized what would become the First Methodist Church of Garland. Eighteen people.

You could fit them all in a good-sized living room, and in a way, that's almost exactly what they did: they worshipped in a log cabin schoolhouse sitting on the banks of Duck Creek, with circuit-riding ministers rolling in to lead the services. Now picture that: a preacher on horseback, covering who knows how much ground, pulling up to a log cabin schoolhouse to tend to his flock before riding on to the next stop down the trail. That was the church in those early days.

They eventually built themselves a proper sanctuary in 1871. Sixteen years after those first eighteen souls gathered on Duck Creek, they had a building to call their own. But Texas weather has never been much for sentiment.

In 1874, a tornado came through and destroyed it. Just like that. Gone.

The congregation endured. And the world around them kept changing too. In 1887, the surrounding communities merged and the City of Garland was formed, and through all of it, the Methodist Church had been part of Garland's story since the very beginning.

Several buildings have served the congregation over the years, each one a chapter in a long and continuing history of ministry to its members, community outreach, and foreign missionary programs. From a log cabin schoolhouse on Duck Creek to a city with a church that's older than the city itself; that's a congregation that was here before Garland was Garland. This marker was a gift from Charles and Winifred Stokes, and that story is one worth remembering.

What the marker says

Organized in 1855 by 18 charter members, this congregation was served by circuit-riding ministers who conducted worship services in a log cabin schoolhouse located on Duck Creek. A sanctuary built in 1871 was destroyed by a tornado in 1874. The City of Garland was formed in 1887 when the surrounding communities merged. The Methodist Church has been part of Garland's history since its begining. Several buildings have served the congregation, which continues active ministries to its members and community outreach and foreign missionary programs. Gift from Charles and Winifred Stokes