First United Methodist Church of Ferris

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First United Methodist Church of Ferris, out in Ellis County. Pull up a chair, because this one goes back a good ways. The town of Ferris was laid out by the Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1874.

Same year the railroad was drawing those first lots in the dirt, two circuit-riding preachers, the Reverend John S. Davis and the Reverend George W. Owens, rode into the picture.

They were the first of a long line of ministers to serve Ferris, and together they got a small body of Methodist congregants going right from the start. Now, circuit riders are a particular breed. They don't plant roots.

They keep movin, riding from one little town to the next, holding things together across the wide open country. And that's exactly what a series of those ministers did for Ferris, year after year, well into the late 1890s. But before any of that settled into permanence, something had to happen first.

In 1885, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South received the donation of two town lots from the railroad itself, and on those lots the church erected its very first building. A parsonage followed in 1895. By 1899, Ferris had grown enough that it became part of the Waxahachie District, Northwest Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

That's a mouthful, but it meant Ferris had a real place on the denominational map. And Ferris was earning it. At the turn of the twentieth century, the town boasted a population of three hundred and eleven.

It had a post office, a railroad depot, an express office, around twenty business and mercantile establishments, cotton gins, hotels, a school running all the way from primary grades through high school, and several churches. Not bad for a town the railroad had sketched out just a few decades before. Then in 1910, the Ferris church and the whole Waxahachie District moved into the newly formed Central Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

New facilities went up as they were needed. But here's the part that gives you a real sense of what a congregation is made of. For much of 1924, the Ferris Methodists had no building of their own to meet in, so they gathered at Ferris High School and in the First Presbyterian Church.

Neighbors making room for neighbors. Then in 1925, the tables turned in the nicest possible way. The Presbyterian congregation came and met in the new Methodist facilities while they waited on their own new structure to be completed.

Two congregations, trading space, keeping the faith going. A more modern facility was constructed for the Methodists in 1964. And the congregation, the one that started with two circuit riders and a handful of faithful people back in 1874, is still at it.

Worship, community outreach, service, mission programs. A hundred and twenty-five years of not quittin. That, right there, is the whole story.

What the marker says

The town of Ferris was laid out by the Houston & Texas Central Railway in 1874. In that year, the Reverend John S. Davis and the Reverend George W. Owens became the first of a series of circuit-riding ministers to serve Ferris, establishing a small body of the Methodist congregants. In 1885 the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, received the donation of two town lots from the railroad, on which the church erected its first building. A parsonage was erected in 1895. Circuit riders continued to serve the Ferris congregation until the late 1890s. Ferris became a part of the Waxahachie District, Northwest Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1899. Ferris boasted a population of 311 at the beginning of the 20th century. A post office, railroad depot, express office, about 20 business and mercantile establishments, cotton gins, hotels, a school for children from primary grades through high school and several churches were among the town's features. In 1910, the Ferris church and the rest of the Waxahachie District became part of the newly-formed Central Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. New facilities were erected as needed. For much of 1924 the congregation met at Ferris High School and in the First Presbyterian Church. In 1925 the Presbyterian congregation met in the new Methodist facilities in anticipation of the completion of their new structure. A more modern facility was constructed for the Methodists in 1964. The congregation continues a strong tradition of worship, community outreach and service and mission programs. (1999)