Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Washington County, there's a Methodist church with roots that go deep, deep into Texas soil. We're talkin' organized prior to 1847, which means by the time most folks had even heard of this congregation, it was already gatherin' steam.

The first pastor, Robert Alexander, hadn't just wandered in off the road. The man had been a missionary in Texas since 1837, workin' the land long before this church had four walls around it. When those walls finally did go up, in 1853, it must have felt like a promise kept.

A congregation given a home. And for decades, that home stood. The Texas Methodist Conference thought enough of Chappell Hill to hold its sessions there not once, not twice, but six times.

Eighteen forty-seven. Eighteen fifty-four. Eighteen sixty.

Eighteen sixty-five. Eighteen seventy. And eighteen seventy-eight.

Six times those circuit riders and conference delegates came to town. That's the kind of reputation that takes years to build. And then came 1900.

The great storm. It destroyed the church. Just gone.

Now, a lesser congregation might have looked at that wreckage and wondered if the story was over. But by 1901, they were already rebuildin', this time in pine, clean and sturdy, rising right back up. And somewhere in that rebuilt church, there is a window with a memorial inscription placed in honor of Dr.

Alexander, a man who served as a member of the Texas Conference for forty-five years. Forty-five years. The storm took the building.

It never took what the building stood for.

What the marker says

Organized prior to 1847. First pastor, Robert Alexander, had been a missionary in Texas since 1837. Original church built in 1853; was destroyed in great storm of 1900; rebuilt in 1901, constructed of pine. Memorial inscription placed in window in honor of Dr. Alexander, a member of the Texas Conference for 45 years. Texas Methodist Conference sessions were held in Chappell Hill six times: 1847, 1854, 1860, 1865, 1870 and 1878.