First United Methodist Church of Comanche

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The First United Methodist Church of Comanche goes back further than the town itself, and that right there ought to tell you something about the kind of people we're talking about. The story starts not in Comanche but in Cora, the frontier town that served as the early seat of government for Comanche County.

It was there, in 1858, that the Rev. J.W. Whipple, presiding elder, and the local pastor, the Rev.

M.O. Coker, organized the congregation. Two men, one church, one frontier.

Then the government moved. When the seat of government shifted to the new town of Comanche in 1859, the congregation picked up and followed right along. Two years after that, the county commissioners donated land, a meeting site set aside for the Methodists, just as they did for other early churches taking root in that young town.

The church later gathered in the Comanche College building, finding shelter where it could, until 1879, when it moved to new facilities at the current site. New buildings came as membership grew, steadily, year by year, the congregation putting down roots that kept going deeper. Now, any church that got its start in the frontier days of that region is going to have some characters in the pulpit, and this one was no exception.

There was the Rev. Hugh M. Childress.

He was known, and I mean widely known, as the Bear Hunter Preacher. He carried guns. The marker doesn't elaborate on that, and honestly, it doesn't need to.

The programs these early members organized had names that echo the era: Ladies' Aid, which later became the Women's Missionary Society, and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, which in time became the Epworth League. Over the years, nearby congregations found their way in, White Point, Indian Creek, and Proctor, all merging with First Methodist Church, each one adding its own threads to the fabric. And the marker notes something quiet but worth sitting with: a number of this church's own members felt a calling into the ministry themselves.

That's a congregation planting seeds in people, not just in buildings. Born in Cora, moved to Comanche, rooted at its current site since 1879, and still a vital institution in that city and county. Long after its frontier founding, the First United Methodist Church of Comanche is still providing leadership and outreach for the community it serves.

Some things, it turns out, outlast the town they started in.

What the marker says

The congregation has historic ties to the frontier town of Cora, the early seat of government for Comanche County. The Rev. J.W. Whipple, presiding elder, and local pastor the Rev. M.O. Coker, organized the church there in 1858. It relocated to Comanche soon after the government moved to the new town in 1859. Two years later, the county commissioners donated land for a congregational meeting site for the Methodists, as it did for other early churches in Comanche. The church later met in the Comanche College building but moved to new facilities at the current site in 1879. It added new buildings as membership grew steadily over the years. Begun in the frontier days of the region, the church had a number of colorful early pastors. One was the Rev. Hugh M. Childress, known as the "Bear Hunter Preacher," who carried guns. Early church programs included Ladies" Aid, later the Women's Missionary Society, and the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, which became the Epworth League. Over the years, a number of nearby churches merged with First Methodist Church, including White Point, Indian Creek and Proctor. The spiritual strength of the Comanche Church is reflected in the number of its members who followed callings into the ministry. First United Methodist Church of Comanche remains a vital institution in the city and county, long after its founding, providing leadership and outreach for the community it serves. (2006)