First United Methodist Church Richardson

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1886, a congregation took shape in Richardson, Texas — organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. And the man who first came to serve them wasn't driving up in a car or catching a train.

No, Thomas Jefferson Milam, born in 1843, was a circuit-riding preacher. The kind of man who showed up on horseback with a Bible and a calling, covering more ground in a week than most folks managed in a month. For the first twelve years, that fledgling congregation didn't even have a building to call its own — they held services in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Borrowed pews, borrowed walls, but the faith was entirely their own. Then in 1898, something shifted. The congregation bought one acre of land on Greenville Avenue — from the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, no less — and up went a white frame church.

Small, sure. But theirs. A parsonage followed in 1912.

A pump organ arrived in 1916, and you can almost hear it now, filling that little white frame building with something bigger than its walls could quite contain. Which, as it turned out, was exactly the problem. Membership kept growing, and that small church simply couldn't hold what the community was becoming.

Final services were held there in April 1924. Thomas Jefferson Milam had passed in 1917, so he didn't see the chapter close — but the story he helped start was far from over. A new red brick building opened in 1925.

The congregation became a full station in 1932. They purchased land on Beltline Road in 1954. On April 13, 1958, they opened a fellowship hall serving as a temporary sanctuary and a twenty-two-room educational building.

A new educational building went up in July 1960. The sanctuary and administrative offices were dedicated on September 13, 1964. An activities building was completed in 1972.

A chapel in 1982. And somewhere in all of that building and growing, the name itself changed — when the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968, this congregation became First United Methodist Church Richardson. By the 1960s, tremendous growth had taken hold, and the church grew to six thousand members.

Land was acquired on Central Expressway between Beltline and Arapaho roads in 1999. They broke ground on April 18, 2004, and on March 26, 2006, they held opening worship at a brand new campus. One circuit rider.

One borrowed church. One acre from a railroad. And from that, a congregation that kept building, kept growing, kept showing up — for well over a century.

What the marker says

Organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Richardson, Texas, in 1886, the church was first served by circuit-riding preacher Thomas Jefferson Milam (1843 - 1917). For the first twelve years, services were held in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1898, the congregation bought one acre of land on Greenville Avenue from the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and a white frame church was built. A parsonage was added in 1912, and a pump organ was purchased in 1916. As membership increased, the small church proved inadequate, and final services were held there in April 1924. A new red brick building was opened in 1925, and the congregation became a full station in 1932. The church purchased land on Beltline Road in 1954. A fellowship hall, serving as a temporary sanctuary, and a 22-room educational building were opened on April 13, 1958. A new educational building was erected in July 1960, and the sanctuary and administrative offices were dedicated on September 13, 1964. An activities building was completed in 1972 and a chapel in 1982. With the 1968 merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the name was changed to First United Methodist Church Richardson. The church experienced tremendous growth beginning in the 1960s, growing to 6,000 members. Additional land was acquired over the years and the campus was expanded. In 1999, acreage was purchased on Central Expressway between Beltline and Arapaho roads. The congregation broke ground on April 18, 2004 and held opening worship at the new campus on March, 26, 2006. The church continues to live out the mission of the United Methodist Church. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986