First United Methodist Church of Cameron

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First United Methodist Church of Cameron, out in Milam County. Now, every good story in Texas starts somewhere out on the road, and this one starts before Cameron even had a church building to speak of. It starts with missionaries.

The first Methodist preachers came to Texas, and four years after that, in 1841, somebody set up a camp meeting right there in Milam County. No walls, no steeple, just the open sky and a whole lot of conviction. That's how the seed got planted.

By 1847, the Reverend Josiah Whipple had helped to organize what would grow into this congregation. Now, for a good while after that, the Methodist faithful in Cameron were part of a preaching circuit. A circuit, for those who don't know, means your pastor was a traveling man.

He had other flocks to tend, other miles to cover. That arrangement held all the way until 1885. Early on, ministers like the Reverend Pleasant M.

Yell and the Reverend John W. Devilbiss rode that circuit and kept the congregation together. But by 1885, the church had grown enough that it earned something it hadn't had before: a full-time pastor.

That was the Reverend J. E. Green.

Now, here's the thing about a congregation that's growin'. It needs a place to be. Four years before Green arrived, back in 1881, the congregation had constructed its very first church building.

That happened during the pastorate of the Reverend J. H. Collard.

First building. Brick and mortar ambition hadn't arrived quite yet, but it was comin'. Sure enough, by the end of the nineteenth century, the space wasn't enough anymore.

A new brick sanctuary was completed in 1901. And even that wasn't the last word. The building that stands today was first used for services in 1923.

Three buildings over the course of a congregation's life, each one a little taller than the last, a little more room for the community it was servin'. And that community mattered to them. Over the years, the First United Methodist Church of Cameron hosted the Texas Annual Conference of Methodist Churches.

Its membership produced several ministers who went on to carry that original missionary spirit somewhere new. From a camp meeting under the open sky in 1841 to a standing sanctuary still reflecting the ideals of its founders. Some stories don't need a dramatic ending.

They just need to still be standing.

What the marker says

This congregation began as part of the early Methodist missionary effort in Texas. A camp meeting was held in Milam County in 1841, four years after the first Methodist preachers came to Texas. By 1847, the Rev. Josiah Whipple had helped to organize this church. Until 1885 the Methodist congregation in Cameron was part of a preaching circuit. Early ministers included the Rev. Pleasant M. Yell and the Rev. John W. Devilbiss. By 1885, the church had grown so that it was given a full-time pastor, the Rev. J. E. Green. Four years earlier, in 1881, the congregation had constructed its first church building, during the pastorate of the Rev. J. H. Collard. Larger facilities were needed by the end of the nineteenth century, and a new brick sanctuary was completed in 1901. The current building was first used for services in 1923. Over the years, First United Methodist Church of Cameron has provided significant service and leadership to the community. The congregation has been host to the Texas Annual Conference of Methodist Churches and has produced several ministers from its membership. Today the church continues to reflect the ideals and traditions of its founders.