First United Methodist Church of Dickinson

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Now, you want to talk about a congregation that just flat refused to quit — well, pull up a chair, because this one goes back to 1876. That's when a group of Methodists led by the Reverend P.

E. Nicholson started meetin' in private homes out in the Dickinson area. No building, no steeple, no pews — just folks gatherin' wherever somebody would open the door.

That's where it all started. By 1885, they had themselves a proper frame building, one that served double duty as a church and a school. Handy.

Practical. Very Texas. And yet — here's a curious little wrinkle — the Dickinson congregation doesn't appear in official denominational records until 1893, when a report noted that a minister was to be supplied to the church.

Sometimes the people show up before the paperwork does. Now. The year 1900.

If you know anything about the Texas Gulf Coast, you already feel what's coming. The storm of 1900 destroyed that first building. Gone.

But what those folks did next tells you everything about who they were — they went back into the wreckage, pulled out what could be salvaged from the old church, and built a new one out of it. That second structure, a two-story frame building, was completed in 1901, and yes, it also served as a school. Because of course it did.

In 1909, the congregation purchased property for a third facility, this one to be built in memory of W. E. Nolan.

They kept adding on — additions were completed in 1935 — and then in 1937, something that had been a long time coming finally arrived: the congregation received its first full-time pastor. Then comes 1944, and with it a gesture of quiet generosity that changed the name of the place entirely. The widow of church member Edwin P.

Howell donated funds for a new sanctuary to be built in his memory. In recognition of that gift, the congregation renamed itself Howell Memorial Methodist Church. A name carried forward in remembrance.

But the story wasn't finished yet. In 1975, they broke ground on the present structure, and when the builders laid it out, they made sure to incorporate cornerstones from both the 1909 and the 1944 sanctuaries right into the new design. The past, literally built into the walls.

When that building was completed, the church was renamed once more — First United Methodist Church of Dickinson. From private homes in 1876, through a storm that leveled everything, through salvaged timber and donated funds and cornerstones carried forward from one generation to the next — that is one long, unbroken line of people deciding, every single time, to keep going.

What the marker says

In 1876 a group of Methodists led by the Rev. P. E. Nicholson began meeting in private homes in the Dickinson area. In 1885 a frame building was erected for use as a church and school. The Dickinson congregation does not appear in official denominational records until 1893, when a report stated that minister was to be supplied to the church. After the first building was destroyed in the storm of 1900, a new structure was built using salvaged materials from the old church. Completed in 1901, the two-story frame building was also used as a school. In 1909 property was purchased for a third facility to be built in memory of W. E. Nolan. Additions were completed in 1935, and in 1937 the congregation received its first full-time pastor. In 1944, when the widow of church member Edwin P. Howell donated funds for a new sanctuary to be built in his memory, the name of the church was changed to Howell Memorial Methodist Church. With cornerstones from the 1909 and 1944 sanctuaries incorporated into its design, the present structure was begun in 1975. When completed, it was renamed First United Methodist Church of dickinson. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986