Mansfield Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'm taking it from there. Fourteen families, fourteen, picked up their lives from other parts of these United States and migrated to Texas, and by 1885 they had done something about it. They established a Methodist congregation right there in Mansfield.

Now, they didn't have a building of their own yet, so they did what good neighbors do: they held worship services in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Borrowed the pews, you might say, until they could build something to call their own. That day came in 1890, when a one-room frame building went up on North First Street.

One room. But it was theirs. And apparently somebody up the Methodist chain of command took notice, because that Mansfield church was named head of circuit, and the Reverend E.D.L.

Tims was appointed as minister. Head of circuit. Not bad for a congregation that had been borrowing somebody else's sanctuary five years prior.

They weren't finished either. In 1891 they turned around and built a large tabernacle; and here's the part I like, they shared it with other churches in town for summer revival meetings. Community-minded from the start.

Now, if this were a smooth, unbroken story of steady progress, it wouldn't be much of a story. In 1903, a storm came through and destroyed that one-room sanctuary on North First Street. Gone.

But these were not people who stayed down. By 1904 they had built a larger edifice: arched stained glass windows, a bell tower, the kind of building that says we are here and we intend to stay. And that building did stay, serving the congregation for decades, all the way until 1942, when it burned.

Two buildings lost; one to storm, one to fire. You'd think that might break a congregation's spirit. Instead, by 1945, they had completed a brick church structure.

And they built it largely by community labor. Neighbors, with their own hands. That building held them for years more, until the membership kept growing and growing, and so they purchased five acres out on Pleasant Ridge and built a larger facility that was dedicated in 1981.

From one borrowed room in a Presbyterian church to five acres on Pleasant Ridge, fourteen families started all of that back in 1885. The marker notes the First Methodist Church of Mansfield has been serving the area for more than a hundred and ten years. Fourteen families, two buildings lost, one built by hand, and still standing.

That's a foundation worth marking.

What the marker says

This congregation was established in Mansfield in 1885 by 14 charter families who had migrated to Texas from other parts of the U.S. Worship services were held in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church until a one-room frame building was constructed on North First Street in 1890. The Mansfield church was named as head of circuit for the Methodist Church and the Rev. E.D.L. Tims was appointed as minister. The Mansfield congregation also built a large tabernacle in 1891 and shared it with other churches in town for summer revival meetings. A storm destroyed the one-room sanctuary in 1903. A larger edifice was built in 1904, and featured arched stained glass windows and a bell tower, and served the congregation until it burned in 1942. A brick church structure was completed in 1945, largely by community labor. Later, five acres were purchased on Pleasant Ridge and a larger facility was built and dedicated in 1981 to house the growing membership. The church has supported community service programs including boy scouts, outreach for those in need, missionary ministries, and Christian day care facilities. The first Methodist Church of Mansfield continues to serve the area as it has for more than 110 years. (1996)