DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Haynie Memorial Methodist Church, out in Navarro County. Now settle in, because this one's got more layers than you might expect from a country church sitting quiet by the road. The Rev.
William Vaughn founded this church in 1874, and right from the start it was a family affair — the charter members were the families of J. M. Bartlett, B.
M. and Mrs. J. A.
Clopton, L. B. and W. D.
Haynie, W. M. Holmes, J.
M. Mitcham, E. E. and I.
B. Sessions, and J. A.
Ward. Those are the names of the people who showed up at the beginning and said, yes, this is worth buildin'. Now, here's where the story takes an interesting turn.
The land beneath this church — the very ground it stands on — was donated by a man named W. M. Rice.
And that name might ring a bell, because the marker tells us he was an official of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and the founder of Rice University down in Houston. That same man gave this congregation its home. The church that stands there today was erected in 1908, and it was named in honor of steward W.
D. Haynie — one of those original charter family names, come full circle. The building was dedicated in 1909, during the pastorate of the Rev.
H. B. Henry, and the man who did the dedicating was Bishop Seth Ward himself.
From a founding preacher to a railroad man to a bishop — that little church pulled in quite a cast of characters to get where it stands today.
What the marker says
The Rev. William Vaughn founded this church in 1874. The charter members were the families of J. M. Bartlett, B. M. and Mrs. J. A. Clopton, L. B. and W. D. Haynie, W. M. Holmes, J. M. Mitcham, E. E. and I. B. Sessions, and J. A. Ward. This site was donated to the church by W. M. Rice, official of the Houston & Texas Central Railroad and founder of Rice University, Houston. The present building, erected in 1908 and named in honor of steward W. D. Haynie, was dedicated in 1909, in the pastorate of the Rev. H. B. Henry, by Bishop Seth Ward.