Site of Oak Grove Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the site of Oak Grove Methodist Church in Tarrant County. Now, some stories are about rising. Some are about fading.

This one is both, and it earns every word of it. It starts in early 1886, out in a wooded spot that gave the place its name, Oak Grove. Thirty members came together there and organized a Methodist congregation, one of five churches sharing the Keller Circuit.

Thirty people, a grove of trees, and something worth building. The next year, 1887, they acquired a building from another church and moved it right onto the property. And because Texas summers don't ask permission, the members put up a brush arbor too, for their warm-weather meetings and revivals.

Now here's the thing about those revivals: folks from all across the community showed up, whatever faith they claimed on Sunday morning. That brush arbor didn't ask for a membership card. Years rolled through, and Oak Grove kept doing what small congregations do.

It shaped the surrounding community so thoroughly that some of its own members went out and formed a whole new church, Colleyville Methodist, in 1924. And here's the part that tells you something about the character of those people: most of the Colleyville members kept right on attending Oak Grove services for many years after. They didn't forget where they came from.

By 1925, the old house of worship had been replaced with something new. A decade later, in 1935, Oak Grove counted 99 members, nearly a hundred souls in those pews. But population centers have a way of drifting, and Oak Grove's membership drifted with them, slowly and then all at once.

By 1949 the roll had fallen to twelve members. Twelve. And early that same year, the church was dissolved.

What had gathered thirty people in a wooded grove in 1886 was gone before 1949 was out. But the last building, it didn't just sit and rot. It was moved to Colleyville and used by that congregation from 1950 all the way to 1961.

The church itself ended, but its walls kept holding people. That's about as Texas an ending as you're going to find, one last act of usefulness, right down to the timber.

What the marker says

Named for its wooded site at the time of its founding in early 1886, Oak Grove Methodist Church was organized with 30 members and was one of five churches on the Keller Circuit. A building acquired from another church was moved onto the property in 1887. Members built a brush arbor for summer meetings and revivals, which were attended by community members of all faiths. Some Oak Grove members formed Colleyville Methodist Church in 1924. Most Colleyville members continued to attend Oak Grove services for many years. In 1925 the early house of worship was replaced. Oak Grove had 99 members in 1935. As population centers changed, Oak Grove's membership declined. By 1949 the church had only twelve members, and it was dissolved early that year. Its last building was moved to Colleyville and used by that congregation from 1950 to 1961. (2000)