Smiley United Methodist Church

Duane's take

The way I tell it, this one comes straight from the marker standing in Gonzales County, so here's the story as the record gives it to me. Way back in 1879, Methodists out in the Smiley area weren't waiting on a building or a deed or a proper steeple. They gathered for informal worship services, out in the open air of faith, making do with whatever space and spirit they had.

That went on for a good while before anything more formal took shape. Then came 1885, and a congregation was organized. They called themselves the Bundick Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, about six charter families pulling together to make it official.

The Rev. W. H.

Killough came on as the church's first itinerate pastor, riding that circuit the way preachers did back then. Later, Rancho circuit preachers and others kept things going, holding services at the Smiley church once a month. Now, where did this little congregation meet?

Not in any grand sanctuary. They met in the Bundick Schoolhouse, a two-story wooden structure that was pulling double duty, because the Lone Star Masonic Lodge held their meetings there too. One building, two purposes, a whole community's worth of history under that roof.

Things shifted when the railroad came through in 1906. The Smiley community moved closer to those new tracks, following the life and commerce that a railroad brings, and the Methodist congregation moved right along with it. In 1907, they built a one-room sanctuary in the new townsite.

One room. That was it. But it served the fellowship, faithfully and without complaint, for decades.

Then in 1948 the current structure was completed and dedicated, a building that finally matched the depth of what this congregation had been building all along. These were farming and ranching families, mostly. Folks who knew hard work and long seasons and the kind of patience that comes from watching things grow slow.

Over the years they provided significant service and leadership to the community, holding up the ideals and traditions of those original six families who gathered in the Bundick Schoolhouse and decided that was enough to start something lasting. Turns out, it was.

What the marker says

Methodists in the Smiley area gathered for informal worship services as early as 1879. In 1885 a congregation, originally known as the Bundick Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, was organized with about six charter families. The Rev. W. H. Killough served as the church's first itinerate pastor. Later, Rancho circuit and other preachers held services at the Smiley church one a month. The congregation first met in the Bundick Schoolhouse, a two-story wooden structure also used for Lone Star Masonic Lodge meetings. The Smiley community moved closer to the railroad after the tracks were laid in 1906, and the Methodist congregation built a one-room sanctuary in the new townsite in 1907. It served the fellowship until the current structure was completed and dedicated in 1948. Members of the Smiley United Methodist Church generally have come from farming and ranching families. Over the years they have provided significant service and leadership to the community and have continued to uphold the ideals and traditions of the founders.