First United Methodist Church of Centerville

Duane's take

Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Leon County, in the town of Centerville, there's a congregation with roots that go so deep they reach back before there was even a proper church to stand in. And that, friends, is where this story begins.

Before any walls went up, before any bell tower cast a shadow on a Sunday morning, there were riders. Circuit riders. Men named Henry H.

Cassady and George W. Tittle, movin' through the country, servin' local Methodists wherever they could find them. No permanent address.

No settled pulpit. Just the road and the calling. Then, in 1850, something shifted.

A formal church organized. It had a name, it had a congregation, and it had a future, though that future would be a long time taking shape. For a while, the people gathered in a schoolhouse.

You work with what you have. But by 1853, they had their first appointed preacher, a man named H. D.

Hubert. And the congregation kept growin', kept meetin', kept believin'. Then came 1871, and they finally built themselves a sanctuary.

A real one. Standing timber and intention. At the time of that building, the church reported two hundred and ninety members.

That is not a small number for Centerville, Texas in 1871. That is a community. Fast forward to 1921.

Workers razed the old church and built a new sanctuary, and this time they added a bell tower. Sometimes you don't restore what you have. You start again, taller.

Then the world went to war, again, and this congregation felt it like so many others did, personally and permanently. Their pastor, Weldon Morton, became an army chaplain. And two of their own, Cecil Lemons and Roland Knight, were killed in action.

You say those names out loud because they deserve to be said. The church campus and its programs kept growin' over the years, the way a living thing does when it's tended well. And today, the oldest church in Centerville still stands, still serves, still described by its own people as a spiritual beacon of light.

From circuit riders on horseback to a bell tower reaching skyward, that's a story worth pullin' over for.

What the marker says

Circuit riders Henry H. Cassady and George W. Tittle served local Methodists before a formal church organized in 1850. H. D. Hubert was the first appointed preacher in 1853. The congregation met in a schoolhouse before building a sanctuary in 1871. The church reported 290 members at the time. In 1921 workers razed the church and built a new sanctuary and bell tower. During World War II, Pastor Weldon Morton became an army chaplain and members Cecil Lemons and Roland Knight were killed in action. The church campus and programs have grown over the years. Today, the oldest church in Centerville continues to serve its community as a spiritual beacon of light. 175 years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011