Macedonia United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Macedonia United Methodist Church, as recorded by the Texas Historical Commission in Marion County. Now settle in, because this story starts at the end of one world and the beginning of another. After the Civil War, after emancipation, newly freed people in Western Marion County found themselves facing a question that is as old as community itself.

Where do we gather? Where do we worship together? And under the leadership of a man named Henry Smith, they set about answering it.

The very first meeting place was a plot of land called the Leigh High Hill, owned by a white settler in the area by the name of Leigh High. That name and that land are worth holding onto for a moment. Freed people, meeting on borrowed ground, building something that would outlast everyone in that first circle.

According to local testimonials, the church was officially organized in April of 1872. They named themselves Macedonia Methodist Episcopal Church, and Henry Smith stood as their first pastor. Now, two years after that organizing, a church member named Paul Mathis looked around and decided that worship alone was not enough.

In 1874, he organized a school right there within the church. Two years on, that school, carrying the name Macedonia, relocated to the private residence of John and Mahala Hall. Then by 1910, the school made its way back, relocated once more to the church campus.

The congregation had put up their first building in 1891, on the Halls' land, a few hundred feet south of where the church stands today. And then, as the marker tells it plainly, that building was destroyed by fire. No softening it.

They lost it. So in 1908, the church purchased two acres of land from W.B. Ward, and a new building went up.

More land came in 1920. The building was rebuilt again in 1940, this time to hold a growing membership. But then the depression and World War II took their toll, and membership began to decline.

Some stories would end right there. This one doesn't. In 1968, Lodwick and Smyrna Methodist Churches merged with Macedonia, and attendance rose.

The church was renamed Macedonia United Methodist Church. A fellowship hall was added, for dinners, for meetings, for the kind of ordinary life that makes a community real. From a plot of borrowed land called the Leigh High Hill, to a place with a fellowship hall and a name that carries a century and a half of persistence.

Macedonia United Methodist Church, the marker says, continues to have a strong presence in the community. That, right there, is the whole story.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War and emancipation, freed slaves began to see the need for a place to collectively worship and gather. As a result, newly freed slaves in Western Marion County decided to organize a church under the leadership of Henry Smith. The first meeting place was located on a plot of land called "the Leigh High Hill" owned by Leigh High, a white settler in the area. According to local testimonials, the church was officially organized in April 1872. The group named themselves Macedonia Methodist Episcopal Church. Henry Smith was the first pastor. In 1874, Paul Mathis, a member of the church, decided to organize a school within the church. After two years, the school, named Macedonia, relocated to the private residence of John and Mahala Hall. By 1910, the school was again relocated to the church campus. In 1891, the membership erected their first building on the Halls" land, a few hundred feet south of the present location. Several years later, this building was destroyed by fire. In 1908, the church purchased two acres of land from W.B. Ward and a new building was erected. Additional land was purchased in 1920 and the church building was rebuilt in 1940 to accommodate increasing membership. As a result of the depression and World War II, membership began to decline. In 1968, Lodwick and Smyrna Methodist Churches merged with Macedonia and attendance rose. The church was renamed Macedonia United Methodist Church. Along with building improvements, a fellowship hall was added for dinners, meetings and events. Macedonia United Methodist Church continues to have a strong presence in the community.