DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm takin' it from there. Way out in Falls County, Texas, before there was a Falls County, before there was even a city of Marlin to speak of, the Methodist preachers were already riding. That's the kind of story this is.
It starts before the town does. The first one sent was the Reverend John W. DeVilbiss, and that was 1842.
Think about that for a second. No county, no city, just a man on a horse with a Bible and a calling. He came first, and then came others, circuit riders following in his tracks, one after another, until 1874, when the Reverend Charles Brown was appointed full-time pastor for the Marlin congregation.
Full time. Meaning the town had finally grown enough to keep one preacher busy all on its own. Back in 1851, the Methodists had already looked ahead.
They selected a lot in the new town of Marlin, staked a claim, said this is where we will build. Then in 1879, they added adjoining lots to the property at Fannin and Williams streets, and again in 1881. They were planting roots, deepening them.
Come 1909, under the pastorate of the Reverend I. F. Betts, the congregation purchased the current site.
And the building that rose on that site, completed in 1910, is still in use today. Now here's where the story gets interesting, because that building is something. The bricks were made from Brazos River bottom red clay.
Not shipped in, not ordered from a catalog. Pulled from the river bottom and fired into the walls you can still see standing. The painted and stained glass windows were imported from Italy.
Brazos clay and Italian glass, all in one building in Marlin, Texas. And the church bell, well, the bell has a past of its own. At one time it rang on a southern plantation.
Whatever road it traveled to get to Falls County, it ended up calling this congregation together. The congregation itself has a record worth hearing. The first revival on record was held in 1865.
They have twice hosted the Texas Annual Conference of Methodist Churches. The women's groups have actively supported mission work at home and abroad. Five members have entered the ministry.
And then there is Miss Maggie Rogers. One member. She served as a missionary in China from 1904 to 1943.
Nearly four decades on the other side of the world, doing the work. She came from a congregation that started before its own county existed, and she carried that tradition to China and kept it going. That is a long road from a circuit rider named DeVilbiss in 1842.
And the building on Brazos clay and Italian glass is still there to prove it.
What the marker says
Missionary preachers served Methodists in this area even before the establishment of Falls County or the city of Marlin. First sent was the Rev. John W. DeVilbiss in 1842. He was followed by other circuit riders until the Rev. Charles Brown was appointed full-time pastor for the Marlin congregation in 1874. In 1851 the Methodists selected a lot on which to build a church in the new town of Marlin. Adjoining lots were added to the property at Fannin and Williams streets in 1879 and 1881. In 1909, under the pastorate of the Rev. I. F. Betts, the church purchased this site. The building, still in use today, was completed in 1910. Bricks made from Brazos River bottom red clay were used, while the painted and stained glass windows were imported from Italy. The church bell was at one time used on a southern plantation. The congregation has established a long tradition of Christian service. The church held its first revival on record in 1865 and has twice been host for the Texas Annual Conference of Methodist Churches. Its women's groups have actively supported mission work at home and abroad. One member, Miss Maggie Rogers, served as a missionary in China from 1904 to 1943. Five of the church's members have entered the ministry.