Lane Chapel C.M.E. Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Lane Chapel C.M.E. Church in Denton County. Now, some stories begin with a single spark, and this one's no different.

It was 1882 in Lewisville, Texas, and a man named Anthony Hembry gathered six charter members, every last one of them a former slave, and together they organized the Lewisville Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Seven people. That's all it took to plant something that would still be standing well over a century later.

And Lewisville was no small stage for this, either. It held the largest African American population in all of Denton County, which meant this church wasn't just a place of worship. It was a social center, a gathering point, a foundation.

It carried enough weight that other C.M.E. churches formed with the encouragement of this very congregation. By 1902, the church had taken a new name, Lane Chapel, in honor of Bishop Isaac Lane. A name chosen with purpose.

Then came the long test. Through the nineteen-twenties, thirties, and forties, rural Americans were leaving the countryside for bigger cities, and Lewisville's Black population dwindled along with that migration. Church membership followed.

There's a particular kind of quiet that settles into a congregation when the pews start to empty, and Lane Chapel knew that quiet well. But here's the thing about a story that keeps going. The church survived the late twentieth century on donations, on funds from other C.M.E. churches, and on the plain devotion of its own members.

That devotion is not a small detail. It is the whole thing. Then, in the nineteen-nineties, a strong ministry took hold, and Lane Chapel found its revival.

By the beginning of the twenty-first century, membership had increased. Seven former slaves started it. Generations of faithful members kept it.

And it's still here to tell the tale.

What the marker says

Anthony Hembry and six charter members, all former slaves, organized Lewisville Colored Methodist Episcopal (C. M. E.) Church in 1882. Lewisville had the largest African American population in Denton County and this church, called Lane Chapel after 1902 for Bishop Isaac Lane, was a significant social center. Other C. M. E. churches formed with the encouragement of this congregation. As rural Americans migrated to larger cities in the 1920s-1940s, the black population of Lewisville diminished and church membership dwindled. The church survived the late 20th century through donations and funds from other C. M. E. churches and the devotion of Lane Chapel members. A strong ministry in the 1990s led to a revival for Lane Chapel, and by the beginning of the 21st century membership had increased. (2000)