First United Methodist Church of Evant

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First United Methodist Church of Evant, up in Coryell County. Pull over if you can, because this one goes back a good ways. Sometime between 1874 and 1876, a traveling preacher by the name of Rev.

Joe Price organized a Methodist Episcopal church out in a place called Langford's Cove community. That community would later be renamed Evant, but back then it was just a cove, and the whole operation started with seven charter members. Seven.

You had Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Winters, Mr. and Mrs.

G.T. Winters, Mr. and Mrs. Edington, and a Miss Elam.

That was the whole congregation. You could've fit them in a good-sized parlor, and more than likely, that's exactly where they met. Now, after a short time, the Rev.

Mr. Price returned to his home in Mississippi. Left seven people and a whole lot of Texas behind him.

A lesser congregation might've folded right there. But W.C. Winters stepped up and kept the prayer meetings going, and occasional visiting pastors would ride through, men like M.M.

Weaver and W.H. Carr from nearby Levita, the Rev. Dr.

Perry of Hamilton, the Rev. Bill Davenport, and the Rev. Osgood Shook.

They didn't have a building. They met in each other's homes, and when the weather cooperated, out under brush arbors. Eventually they worked their way into the small local schoolhouse, which I imagine felt like a cathedral after all those living rooms.

Then in the spring of 1879, they held a camp meeting out at Cottonwood Springs. And something about that gathering seemed to open the door, because new families started movin' into the area. The Murehead family came all the way from Rhode Island.

The Thomas family came from Wales, Great Britain. These weren't your typical Central Texas transplants. They started a Sunday school, invited the area's young people in, and little by little the congregation grew.

Now here's a detail the marker makes sure to note. In 1884, it was the Baptists who built the first church building in the community. The Methodists, to their credit, shared that structure with other denominations and did so for more than twenty years.

Then in 1905, the Methodists finally erected a building of their own. That building served them well, until 1937, when highway development meant the whole structure had to be moved across the street. You don't hear that very often, but that's what the record says.

The story keeps building. In 1949, the Methodist Church from the nearby Vista community joined with the Evant congregation, and together they dedicated a new brick building that very same year, in a ceremony led by the presiding bishop. The congregation kept growing, and the twentieth century peak came in 1963, when the rolls showed 201 members.

Seven charter members meeting in somebody's front room in Langford's Cove. A preacher who eventually headed home to Mississippi. Families rolling in from Rhode Island and Wales.

A shared building, a moved building, a new brick building, and a bishop at the podium. That's not just a church history. That's a whole community findin' its footing, one prayer meeting at a time.

And according to the marker, the Evant United Methodist Church is still out there, carryin' on in the traditions of those original seven.

What the marker says

Organized by the Rev. Joe Price between 1874 and 1876, in Langford's Cove community (later renamed Evant), the Evant Methodist Episcopal Church began with seven charter members: Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Winters, Mr. and Mrs. G.T. Winters, Mr. and Mrs. Edington, and Miss Elam. After a short time, the Rev. Mr. Price returned to his home in Mississippi. The congregation continued to hold prayer meetings led by W.C. Winters and occasional visiting pastors, including M.M. Weaver and W.H. Carr of nearby Levita, the Rev. Dr. Perry of Hamilton, the Rev. Bill Davenport and the Rev. Osgood Shook. First meeting in members' homes and under brush arbors, they eventually began to hold prayer meetings in the small local schoolhouse. In the spring of 1879 a camp meeting was held at Cottonwood Springs. New families began moving into the area, including the Murehead family from Rhode Island and the Thomas family from Wales, Great Britain. They began a Sunday school and invited area young people to join them in Methodist worship. As they grew in numbers, they joined the Methodist church. In 1884, the Baptists built the first church building in the community. The Methodists shared the structure with other denominations until 1905, when they erected their own building. It was moved across the street in 1937 due to highway development. The Methodist Church in the nearby Vista community joined with Evant Methodist in 1949 and they dedicated a new brick building that year in a ceremony led by the presiding bishop. The congregation's growth reached its 20th century peak in 1963 with 201 members. The Evant United Methodist Church continues in the traditions of its founders. (2000)