DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Tyler Street United Methodist Church in Dallas County. Now settle in, because this one's a story about a congregation that refused to quit — not once, not twice, but every single time the ground shifted beneath them. It starts on November 27, 1911, when the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, appointed a young man named the Reverend J.
Leonard Rea to go plant a church in Dallas. Rea was born in 1884, and he had a good long life ahead of him — all the way to 1965 — which is fortunate, because what he was about to start would take some stayin' power. The congregation organized itself on January 29, 1912, and right out of the gate, 166 charter members signed on.
That is not a small number for a brand new church. That's a statement. By July of that same year, they had a sanctuary standing at the corner of Tyler and Sunset streets.
The Reverend Rea stayed on as minister, and when that first report went up to the denomination's Annual Conference, the membership had already climbed to 304. They weren't walking — they were running. Then came 1921.
The congregation had grown enough that they needed a whole new building. They acquired a site at Tenth and Polk streets, moved into a partially completed building that very year, and pressed on. Construction picked back up in 1923, and by 1925 a large sanctuary stood finished.
Now — if this were a simple success story, I'd wrap it up right there with a bow. But 1925 was not the end of the road. Because a few years later, something came for every congregation, every family, every business in this country.
The Great Depression. And it came for Tyler Street Methodist Church with a particular kind of cruelty — creditors closed the church building entirely. The congregation lost access to the very sanctuary they'd sacrificed to build.
So what did they do? They met at Sunset High School. From March of 1932, Sunday after Sunday, they gathered in borrowed space, holding the community together with nothing but faith and stubbornness — two things Texas churches tend to have in good supply.
They kept at it until the fall of 1933, when they were finally able to return to their own facilities. Since that time, the congregation has continued to grow, and additional buildings have been added to the property. Tyler Street United Methodist Church — born from one appointment on a November day in 1911, tested by debt and depression, never dissolved — remains a vital part of the community.
Some things, it turns out, are just built to last.
What the marker says
On November 27, 1911, the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, appointed the Rev. J. Leonard Rea (1884 - 1965) to establish a parish in Dallas to be known as Tyler Street Methodist Church. The congregation was organized on January 29, 1912, with 166 charter members. A sanctuary for the new church was built on the corner of Tyler and Sunset streets in July 1912. The Rev. Mr. Rea continued as minister, and the first report of the congregation to the denomination Annual Conference revealed a membership of 304. By 1921 the need for a new building had arisen. A site was acquired at Tenth and Polk streets, and the congregation moved into a partially completed building that year. Construction resumed in 1923 and a large sanctuary was completed in 1925. During the difficult period of the Great Depression the church building was closed by creditors. The congregation met in Sunset High School from March 1932 until they could return to their facilities in the fall of 1933. Since that time, the congregation has continued to grow, and additional buildings have been added to the property. Tyler Street United Methodist Church remains a vital part of the community.