Prairie View United 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 on the Nogalus Prairie, in Trinity County, there's a little congregation with a story that starts back in the early 1880s. No building, no deed in hand, just early members of the Prairie View United Methodist Church gathering at a site and holding services.

That's where it begins. Simple as that, and maybe that's the most honest kind of beginning there is. In 1883, a man named Richard Willborn built them their first sanctuary.

The land belonged to Thomas A. Nelms, and Willborn put that church up right there on Nelms's ground. Now, 1887 rolls around, and Nelms sells the land.

But here's the part worth noting: he reserved two acres for the church. He let the property go, but he held back those two acres. Some things you just don't sell.

The congregation wasn't alone out there, either. The local Baptists used the same site, and together, those two congregations did what folks on the prairie knew how to do. They built brush arbors for revivals.

They held baptisms in the nearby creeks and ponds. And on Sundays, they spread out Sunday lunches at tables under the pine trees. Different denominations, same shade, same table.

You can't improve on that arrangement. Then comes 1912, and the church needed a new building. Now, a lot of congregations would pass a collection plate.

Prairie View United Methodist took a different approach. Members donated cows. Actual cows, sold for lumber, and with that lumber they built themselves a new church.

I've heard of fundraising, but donating your livestock has a certain commitment to it that's hard to argue with. The congregation built its current church in 1956, and that building is still standing today. Still a center for the community out on the Nogalus Prairie, same as it's been since those first members gathered there in the early 1880s with nothing but the intention to show up.

Turns out that's enough to last.

What the marker says

Prairie View United Methodist Church Early members of the Prairie View United Methodist Church of the Nogalus Prairie area began holding services at this site in the early 1880s. Richard Willborn built their first sanctuary in 1883 on land owned by Thomas A. Nelms. He sold the land in 1887, but reserved two acres for the church. Local Baptists also used the site; the two congregations built brush arbors for revivals, held baptisms in nearby creeks and ponds, and had Sunday lunches at tables under pine trees. In 1912, church members donated cows to sell for lumber, which they used for a new building. The congregation built its current church in 1956. It remains a center for the community. (2002)