DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the First United Methodist Church of Hico, Hamilton County. Now, every congregation worth its salt has got a founding story, and this one starts the way the best ones do — with a handful of people, a borrowed room, and a whole lot of conviction. In 1881, the Reverend John W.
Hearn and Elder L.B. Hickman gathered twenty-nine members together and organized a Methodist church right there in Hico. They didn't have a building yet, so they did what practical folks do — they held their early services in the Hico schoolhouse.
The charter members included the L.T. Dillashaw, J.B. Hillyer, George D.
Autrey, and D.G. Barrow families. Families, plural.
Which means from the very beginning, this wasn't just a gathering — it was a community. Now, twenty-nine members and a schoolhouse will get you started, but a congregation needs a home of its own. And here's where it gets interesting.
During the winter of 1884 to 1885, an evangelist by the name of R.R. Raymond came to town and led a ten-day revival. Ten days.
And while souls were being stirred, so was something else — money. That revival helped raise the funds needed for a proper church sanctuary. Then in 1886, the Texas Central Railway donated land for the use of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Congregation of Hico.
You heard that right — a railroad company donating land. And by spring of 1887, a sanctuary was completed right on that site. That structure served the congregation well, watched it grow — and grow it did, past three hundred members — until 1902 to 1903, when a new sanctuary was built of wood, with handcrafted benches and a handcrafted pulpit.
Built by hand. There's something about that detail that stays with you. The years rolled on, the congregation kept putting down roots, and by the twentieth century, something remarkable was happening across the surrounding countryside.
Other area churches — from the communities of Carlton, Clairette, Duffau, Fairy, and Pleasant Hill — merged their memberships into Hico's. Five communities folding into one fellowship. The church became a keeper of something bigger than itself.
In 1954, the congregation threw open its doors for an open house and homecoming, welcoming back former members and former pastors to see what had become of the place they loved. What they found was a new education building, a remodeled sanctuary, an enclosed bell tower, and a new tan brick façade laid right over the original wood cladding. New skin on old bones, you might say — still standing, still serving.
And serving is exactly the word. Over its years, this church has run Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs, hosted community dinners, kept a clothes and food pantry going, and poured itself into youth, music, and education programs, missionary funding, and regular study and worship. That's not a résumé — that's a way of life.
Twenty-nine people in a schoolhouse. That's where it began. What it became is the kind of thing that takes generations to build and a whole community to carry forward.
What the marker says
In 1881, the Rev. John W. Hearn and Elder L.B. Hickman led 29 members in a newly organized Methodist church in Hico. The congregation held its early services in the Hico schoolhouse, and charter members included the L.T. Dillashaw, J.B. Hillyer, George D. Autrey and D.G. Barrow families. During a 10-day revival in winter 1884-85, evangelist R.R. Raymond helped raise money for a church sanctuary. Texas Central Railway donated land in 1886 for the use of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Congregation of Hico. A sanctuary was completed in spring 1887 at this site. The structure served the congregation, which had grown to more than 300 members, until 1902-03, when the current sanctuary was built of wood with handcrafted benches and pulpit. The church held an open house and homecoming in 1954, showing to former members and pastors a new education building and remodeled sanctuary, with an enclosed bell tower and new tan brick façade over the original wood cladding. The congregation's numbers grew during the 20th century as other area churches merged their memberships into Hico's. These churches represented the communities of Carlton, Clairette, Duffau, Fairy and Pleasant Hill. During its years as a congregation, the church has contributed to area communities through its many services, including Boy and Girl First United Methodist Church of Hico Marker image. Click for full size. By Richard Denney, July 29, 2018 2. First United Methodist Church of Hico Marker Side view of marker from entrance to church; marker is hard to see through bushes that have grown in front of the marker. Scout programs, community dinners, and clothes and food pantry, as well as its youth, music and education programs, missionary funding, study and worship. (2002)