St. John's United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. John's United Methodist Church in Rockdale, Milam County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got more layers than a good Sunday potluck.

Now, Rockdale got its start in 1874, and from the very beginning, the Methodists there were the kind of folks who figured out how to make do. They worshipped in shared facilities, which in plain terms means they were borrowing whatever space would have them. The first Methodist pastor to serve in Rockdale was the Reverend R.F.

Beasley, and somebody had to go first, so there he was. Then came 1882, and things started to get serious. Under the leadership of Reverend W.H.

Henderson, two men named John S. Barnes and Jacob S. Wetmore sold two lots on East Cameron Street.

And they didn't sell those lots to just anyone. The deed went to A.B. Leach, J.N.

Redding, R. Robinson, and C.M. Keith, listed in the paperwork as trustees of the Methodist church in Rockdale.

Four names on a deed, and a congregation holding its breath. A year later, in 1883, a frame structure opened on that very ground. We're talking stained glass, a concave tented steeple, the works.

And it didn't take long for the place to become more than a Sunday-morning destination. The site started serving the local population for education too. Early educator Maggie Hall moved her school to the site sometime in the 1880s or 1890s.

A church, a school, a community anchor, all wrapped up in one frame building on East Cameron Street. Now, here's a detail that'll stick with you. There was a bell, cast in 1881, and it needed a proper home.

So the steeple was remodeled into a bell tower to house it. That bell predated the building it eventually rang over, and the congregation thought enough of it to reshape their own steeple around it. Hold onto that bell, because it's not done with this story yet.

In 1900, the church hosted the Methodists' Texas annual conference. That's not a small thing. You don't get handed that kind of gathering unless folks know your name.

Decades rolled by, and then in the 1950s, the Alcoa plant came to Rockdale, bringing jobs, and with jobs came people, and with people came growth. The church felt it. So by 1960, the congregation celebrated a groundbreaking at a new site on Hillcrest Drive.

What went up there was a three-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar building with three hundred and twenty seats. Brand new. And when they moved in, they brought that 1881 bell right along with them.

Some things you just don't leave behind. The Reverend Robert A. Greaves had the honor of being the first pastor to serve the new church.

But let's go back a little, because St. John's was organizing mission societies since at least 1898. The Ladies Home Mission Society took care of church facilities and visited the sick.

The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society supported foreign missionaries on the other side of the world. Two different callings, one congregation. In time, those two societies merged and renamed themselves the Women's Society of Christian Service.

Then came the 1970s, and the church started the All Stars Sunday School class, a class for special needs adults, and it's been going ever since. The roll of notable people connected to St. John's includes longtime members Vaughnie Dudley and Juliett Frankyn, and three writers: George Sessions Perry, Leila M.

Batte, and Mary Belle Batte. Writers, caretakers, missionaries, teachers. The kind of congregation that shows up.

That 1881 bell has rung over a frame building with a tented steeple, over a remodeled bell tower, and over a brand-new three-hundred-twenty-seat sanctuary on Hillcrest Drive. Rockdale changed around it. The church changed with the town.

And according to the marker, St. John's continues to be a place of community and hope. Some stories don't need an ending, because they're still going.

What the marker says

From the town's founding in 1874, Rockdale methodists worshipped in shared facilities. The first methodist pastor to serve in Rockdale was reverend R.F. Beasley. In 1882 under the leadership of Rev. W.H. Henderson, John S. Barnes and Jacob s. Wetmore sold two lots on East Cameron Street to "A.B. Leach, J.N. Redding, R. Robinson and C.M. Keith, trustees, methodist church in Rockdale." A frame structure, with stained glass and concave tented steeple, opened in 1883. The site soon served the local population as not only a site for religious activity, but also education. Early educator Maggie Hall moved her school to the site in the 1880s or 1890s. To house the 1881 school bell, the steeple was remodeled into a bell tower. The church hosted the methodists" 1900 Texas annual conference. In the 1950s, the Alcoa plant brought jobs to Rockdale, and the church experienced growth. In 1960, the church celebrated groundbreaking at a new site on Hillcrest Drive. A new $350,000, 320-seat building was constructed, complete with the 1881 bell. The rev. Robert a. Greaves was the first pastor to serve the new church. St. John's organized mission societies since at least 1898, including the ladies home mission society, which took care of church facilities and visited the sick, and the woman's foreign missionary society, which supported foreign missionaries. The two societies eventually merged and renamed themselves the women's society of Christian service. In the 1970s, the all stars Sunday school class for special needs adults started. Notable persons associated with the church include longtime members Vaughnie Dudley and Juliett Frankyn, and writers George Sessions Perry, Leila M. Batte and Mary Belle Batte. St. John's continues to be a place of community and hope. (2023)