First Methodist Church of Plano

Duane's take

The official marker's the source here, and this is my telling of it; so let's go back to the beginning. Now, thirteen people. That's all it took.

Somewhere around 1846 or 1847 (and oral history gives us that range, so we'll honor the uncertainty) thirteen souls gathered in the home of Joseph and Elizabeth Russell, Peters' colonists both, and they set about organizing a Methodist church. A local preacher named James A. Smith, living near Dallas, came out to help them get it done right.

Thirteen people and a borrowed parlor. Not exactly a grand cathedral, but then again, most enduring things don't start out looking like much. They kept meeting at the Russell home, Sunday after Sunday, year after year, right on into the 1850s.

Then they graduated (if you want to call it that) to a schoolhouse up on upper Spring Creek, northwest of the original Plano townsite. Still no steeple. Still no stained glass.

But the congregation was alive and movin'. Now here's where the railroad changes everything; the way it tends to. The Houston and Texas Central built a line through the area, and in 1873, Plano incorporated as a town.

One year later, in 1874, the Methodists made their move right into that new town. They'd been travelin' a long road, metaphorically speakin', and now there was an actual road and a railroad to follow. By 1888, the congregation had grown enough that the Methodist Church recognized them as a full station, and the Reverend D.J.

Martin stepped in as the first full-time pastor. That's a milestone worth pausin' on. Forty-some years from a thirteen-person living room meeting to a full station with a pastor of their own.

In 1894 they bought land at what is now 16th and K Streets, and the following year, 1895, they completed a new building. That building stood in service for the better part of seven decades, carrying the congregation through worship and education and outreach: domestic missionary work, foreign missionary work, the whole sweep of what a church does when it means to do something lasting. Then 1968 rolls around and a larger facility goes up at that same site.

Because thirteen people had become, well, considerably more than thirteen people. And the story doesn't stop there. In 2002, the First United Methodist Church of Plano moved again; this time to a new location at 3160 East Spring Creek Parkway, seeking more visibility and room to grow.

Spring Creek. The congregation had worshipped near Spring Creek back when Plano wasn't even a town yet. And here they are, over a hundred and fifty years on, putting down new roots along Spring Creek Parkway.

Some rivers, it seems, just keep calling you back.

What the marker says

According to oral history sources, this congregation traces its history to 1846 or 1847, when a group of thirteen people met together in the home of Peters' colonists Joseph and Elizabeth Russell to organize a Methodist church. The group was assisted by James A. Smith, a local preacher living near Dallas. They continued to meet at the Russell home until the 1850s, when they moved to a schoolhouse ion upper Spring Creek northwest of the original Plano townsite. Plano was incorporated in 1873, one year after the Houston & Texas Central Railroad built a line through the area. The Methodists moved to the new town in 1874. The congregation became a full station of the Methodist Church in 1888, with the Rev. D.J. Martin as first full-time pastor. They bought land at present 16th and K Streets in 1894 and completed a new building in 1895. It served the members until 1968 when a larger facility was built at this site. Throughout its history, the First Methodist Church of Plano has served the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs. It maintains a strong record of support to both domestic and foreign missionary endeavors. (1992) supplemental plate: In 2002 the First United Methodist Church moved to a new location at 3160 East Spring Creek Parkway for more visibility and to accommodate congregational growth.