DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. This is the story of the First United Methodist Church of Sherman, up in Grayson County. Now settle in — because this congregation has been through more than most.
Before Grayson County was even organized, before there was a proper town square or a single permanent building to speak of, circuit riders were already braving this frontier, riding their routes out here to gather whoever would gather. That kind of devotion tends to leave a mark. The first congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Sherman was formally established in 1859, with the Reverend J.
M. Binkley as pastor. And those first members?
They worshipped under a brush arbor — branches and sky for a ceiling — right on what is now the Sherman Public Square. You think about that the next time you walk across that square. The very next year, 1860, the congregation raised its first permanent building — a frame structure.
That's a real roof, real walls. Progress. Only, in 1885 that building burned.
Just like that, twenty-five years of a home, gone. But a congregation that started under a brush arbor does not quit easy. For four years they gathered in the city opera house — which, as venues go, has a certain character to it — while a brick sanctuary was being erected back on that original site.
They moved into that brick structure in 1889, and it served them well until 1910, when the congregation made another move, this time to a new and larger edifice, a domed building situated at North Travis and Mulberry streets. For forty-four years, that place was known as Travis Street Methodist Church, and it stood as a focal point of Methodist activity not just in Sherman but across North Texas. Forty-four years is a long run for anything.
But congregations grow, and growing congregations need room. So in 1955, on property that had once belonged to Kidd-Key College — a Methodist school, which gives it a certain symmetry — the present structure went up at Mulberry and Elm streets, and the church took the name First Methodist Church. Then in 1968, with denominational union, it became what it's called today: First United Methodist Church of Sherman.
From a brush arbor on the square to a domed sanctuary on Travis Street to the building standing right now — that's not just one church's story. That's the whole frontier growing up around a congregation that refused to stop meeting.
What the marker says
First congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Sherman. Established in 1859 with the Rev. J. M. Binkley, pastor, the church was born of labors of circuit riders who braved this frontier area even before the county was organized. The first members worshipped under a brush arbor located on what is now the Sherman Public Square. The first permanent building, a frame structure, was erected in 1860. Located in the 300 block of South Travis Street, this building burned in 1885. For four years the congregation worshipped in the city opera house while a brick sanctuary was being erected on the original site. This structure was occupied in 1889 and used until 1910, when a new and larger domed edifice, located at North Travis and Mulberry streets, was occupied. For 44 years "Travis Street Methodist Church" served as a focal point of Methodist activity in Sherman and North Texas. To meet the needs of a growing congregation, the present structure was erected in 1955 (Mulberry and Elm streets) on property once belonging to Kidd-Key College, a Methodist school. The church was named "First Methodist Church." With denominational union in 1968, it became "First United Methodist Church."