Union Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Union Methodist Church in Mitchell County. Now settle in, because this one's a small story with a big heart. In March of 1891, a man named Reverend J.W.

Montgomery organized what would become Union Methodist Church out here on the Texas plains. And right from the start, the name said it all. Union.

Because this wasn't a place that kept its doors narrow. All faiths worshipped here. Think about that for a moment.

All faiths. In a time and place where folks didn't always have a lot of choices about where to gather, this little church threw the doors wide open. The first church building was put up by a man named J.M.

Dorn and his neighbors. Now, these were people who made do with what they had, and what they had for pews were planks laid across nail kegs. Planks.

Over nail kegs. You sit on enough of those of a Sunday morning, and I promise you your attention stays sharp. That building did more than host worship services, too.

It served as a schoolhouse, and as a community meeting place. One building carrying all that weight for the people around it. Then came 1905, and a present church was built.

And with that new building came a new name: Dorn Chapel, honoring that same J.M. Dorn who had helped raise the first one with his neighbors years before. From nail-keg pews to a proper chapel, from a single congregation to a meeting ground for all faiths.

That's not a bad legacy for one little piece of Mitchell County ground.

What the marker says

Organized March, 1891, by Rev. J.W. Montgomery. First church built by J.M. Dorn and neighbors. All faiths worshipped here. Was also used as schoolhouse and community meeting place. Present church built 1905, and renamed Dorn Chapel. Planks over nail kegs were early pews. (1967)