Stoneham Methodist Church

Duane's take

The way this marker tells it, here's the story of Stoneham Methodist Church as I'm passing it along to you now. Back in 1885, the early settlers of Stoneham didn't have a church of their own. If they wanted Methodist services, they made their way over to nearby Plantersville.

But twelve members of that Plantersville congregation decided something needed to be done closer to home, and so in 1885 they organized a church right here in Stoneham. Twelve people. That's it.

That's your founding. And for a good while, those faithful folks gathered in a school, and their preachers came to them the old way, circuit-riding ministers rolling through when the circuit brought them around. That went on until 1893, when the congregation built itself a proper frame sanctuary right here on this ground.

And with that building came something else: the Reverend R. W. Adams, the first full-time pastor this church ever had.

The congregation didn't have to share him with anybody. He was theirs. Then came the nineteen-twenties, and the church hit its stride.

It flourished. Youth programs, community life, the whole picture. But the land around Stoneham started losing people, and when populations decline, churches feel it.

The doors closed in the period of 1940 to 1945, and then again from 1960 to 1973. Two separate closings. Two separate silences sitting over this place.

But in 1973, the church was reactivated, and it has been serving this community ever since. Twelve members planted a seed in 1885, and it's still growing. That, friends, is a story that outlasted the doubt.

What the marker says

Early settlers of Stoneham, established in 1885, attended Methodist services in nearby Plantersville. This congregation was organized by 12 members of the Plantersville Church in 1885. Services were held in a school and led by circuit-riding ministers until 1893 when a frame sanctuary was built here and The Rev. R. W. Adams became the first full-time pastor. In the 1920s the church flourished and supported several youth programs. Due to declining area populations the church closed in 1940-1945 and 1960-1973. Reactivated in 1973, the church continues to serve the area with various programs. Sesquicentennial of texas Statehood 1845 - 1995