Onalaska First United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just the same. Back in 1908, a church took root in the East Texas community of Onalaska, on land deeded by a man named William Carlisle. Now Carlisle wasn't just a generous neighbor.

He was the owner of the Carlisle-Pennel Lumber Company, the very outfit that organized the community of Onalaska in the first place. So when the land came from him, it came with the weight of the whole town behind it. Overseeing the church building was L.O.

Jackson, superintendent of that same lumber company. Jackson didn't stop at raising one congregation either. He aided in the growth of both the Methodist and Baptist congregations in Onalaska.

One man, two flocks. The community and the congregation thrived together, the way a town and its church often do when they're built by the same hands. Then came the decline.

Following World War I, the area's lumber industry faded, and with it, the vitality that had kept Onalaska humming. The congregation felt that quiet settling-in the same as everyone else. But this story doesn't end there.

In 1968, Lake Livingston was built nearby, and by the 1970s, new life came washing back into the community. The church once again experienced substantial growth. The Onalaska First United Methodist Church has kept right on serving ever since, a spiritual leader for the community, still standing on that same land William Carlisle put his name to more than a hundred years ago.

What the marker says

This church was established in 1908 on land deeded by William Carlisle, the owner of the Carlisle-Pennel Lumber Company which organized the community of Onalaska. L.O. Jackson, superintendent of the lumber company, oversaw the church building and aided in the growth of both Methodist and Baptist congregations in Onalaska. The community and congregation thrived until the area's lumber industry declined following World War I. Nearby Lake Livingston was built in 1968 and by the 1970s, the church once again experienced substantial growth. Today, Onalaska First United Methodist Church continues to serve the community as a spiritual leaders. (2008)