DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Back in 1885, a Methodist reverend by the name of Josiah Whipple was appointed to do something that sounds simple enough on paper but never really is: organize a mission from scratch. East Austin's tenth ward was his territory, and he set about building a congregation.
It took a few years, the way these things do, but by 1888 that congregation had itself a real sanctuary, sitting right on First Street. They called it the First Street Methodist Church, which is about as straightforward a name as you can give a thing. Now, a church can hold a name like that for only so long before the story behind it gets bigger than the address.
In 1909, the congregation adopted a new name: Ward Memorial. They chose it to honor a Methodist bishop named Seth Ward, a native Texan, who died that same year, 1909. Carrying a man's name is a different kind of weight than carrying a street name, and these folks knew it.
Time kept moving, the way time in Texas always does, and Austin started spreading southward. A lot of Ward Memorial's members spread with it, settling into new parts of the city. The church, with its long-standing emphasis on neighborhood ministry, followed its people.
In 1959, Ward Memorial purchased land at a new site, and by the following year, a new building was complete and ready. A hundred years of ministry, give or take, and that congregation was still doing exactly what Josiah Whipple started out to do back in 1885: show up where the neighbors were.
What the marker says
In 1885, the Rev. Josiah Whipple was appointed to organize a Methodist mission in east Austin's tenth ward. The congregation built a sanctuary on First Street in 1888 and became known as the First Street Methodist Church. In 1909, the name Ward Memorial was adopted in honor of Methodist bishop Seth Ward (d.1909), a native Texan. As Austin expanded southward, many members of Ward Memorial moved to this area. The Church, with its emphasis on neighborhood ministry, purchased land at this site in 1959 and completed a new building the following year. (1985)