DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for the First United Methodist Church of Orange tells it like this — and friends, this one's worth every mile. Now, Methodist roots in Orange, Texas run deep. We're talkin' 1859, when a preacher named the Reverend Valerious C.
Canon was sent into this territory from the Woodville District. That's how it started — one man, one assignment, one town that didn't yet know what was comin'. By 1871, Orange had been folded into a circuit that stretched across Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange counties.
A wide-open stretch of East Texas bayou country. And somebody had to ride it. That's where the legend steps in.
According to the legend, one of the first circuit riders on that route was the Reverend Daniel Morse. Now, the Reverend Morse was a man of God — but he was also a man who had to eat. And so, the story goes, he supplemented his preaching income by hunting alligators in the nearby swamps and marshes and selling the hides.
Let that sit with you a moment. A preacher, saddlebag in one hand, alligator hide in the other. For that reason, the marker tells us, this stretch became known as the Alligator Circuit.
I'll be honest — there are worse nicknames for a preaching route through the Texas swamplands. In 1873, all that circuit-riding paid off. The first Methodist church was formally organized right there in Orange, with forty-four charter members.
They erected a small frame church on College Street and, generous souls that they were, shared the building with other denominations. A Sunday School followed in 1879. The fellowship had started out classified as a mission, but by 1884 it had grown self-supporting.
The Reverend W. H. Crawford stepped in as the first full-time pastor.
Then came 1886. Fire destroyed the original church building. Just like that — gone.
But a congregation that traced its spiritual lineage to alligator-hunting circuit riders was not about to quit. The Ladies Aid Society went to work raising funds for a new frame church. They built it at the corner of Border and Henderson streets, and it was completed in 1892.
That building served its people, then was moved to this very location in 1912. And in 1921, the present sanctuary rose to replace it. By 1978, the congregation had grown to over fifteen hundred members.
From one preacher arriving in 1859, to forty-four charter members, to fifteen hundred souls — and somewhere underneath it all, the ghost of a circuit rider knee-deep in a swamp, doing what it took to keep the word alive. That, right there, is an Orange, Texas story.
What the marker says
The first recorded Methodist activity in Orange was in 1859, when the Rev. Valerious C. Canon was sent here from the Woodville District. By 1871, Orange was on a circuit which included Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange counties. According to legend, one of the first circuit riders, the Rev. Daniel Morse, supplemented his preaching income by hunting alligators in nearby swamps and marshes and selling the hides. For that reason, this became known as the "Alligator Circuit." The first Methodist church was organized in 1873 with 44 charter members. The congregation erected a small frame church on College Street and shared their building with other denominations. A Sunday School was established in 1879. Initially classified as a mission, this fellowship became self-supporting in 1884. The Rev. W. H. Crawford served as the first full-time pastor. Fire destroyed the original church building in 1886. The Ladies Aid Society helped raise funds for a new frame church situated at the corner of Border and Henderson streets. Completed in 1892, it was moved to this location in 1912 and replaced by the present sanctuary in 1921. By 1978, this congregation had grown to over 1500 members.