DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Webster Chapel United Methodist Church in Victoria County. Now settle in, because this one starts where so many Texas stories do — in the long, uncertain days just after the Civil War. The smoke had barely cleared, and already, a fellowship was organizing in Victoria to serve the newly freed slaves of the area.
That right there is where this story begins. Not with a building, not yet — just people, and a purpose. Originally a Methodist Episcopal Church, this congregation took its first real legal step in 1871.
That year, nine trustees put their names to a land purchase right here at this site: George Ware, Thads Phillips, Isaac Smith, Alexander Bonds, James Maulding, John Hall, Madison Gafford, Abner James, and George Washington. Nine men, signing their names to a piece of ground they intended to make holy. And here's the thing that'll stay with you — many of those early members had attended services at the First Methodist Church of Victoria before.
As slaves. Same faith, same hymns, same God — and now, finally, a place of their own. The congregation's first pastor was the Reverend N.
Webster, and it is for him the church was later named. Webster Chapel. The first building, a frame sanctuary, wasn't completed until 1889 — nearly two decades after those trustees first signed that deed.
But they built it. Then the church kept growing, and growing demanded change. Additions went up.
The interior was remodeled, extensively. And in the nineteen thirties and forties, as residents from the surrounding area moved into Victoria looking for work, many new members joined the fold. Prominent pastors came and went.
Prominent members rose up. Through all of it, since those first uncertain days after the Civil War, Webster Chapel United Methodist Church has played a significant role in the growth and development of Victoria's Black community. Nine men signed their names to a piece of land in 1871.
What they built is still standing.
What the marker says
This fellowship was organized shortly after the Civil War to serve the newly freed slaves of the Victoria area. Originally a Methodist Episcopal Church, it began in 1871 when church trustees George Ware, Thads Phillips, Isaac Smith, Alexander Bonds, James Maulding, John Hall, Madison Gafford, Abner James, and George Washington purchased land at this site for the construction of a sanctuary. Many of the early members had attended services of the First Methodist Church of Victoria as slaves. The Rev. N. Webster, for whom the church was later named, served as the first pastor. The first church building, a frame sancturary, was completed here in 1889. Later changes, which included additions to the structure and extensive interior remodeling , were a result of the church's continued growth. Many members were added in the 1930s and 1940s as residents of the surrounding area moved to Victoria in search of jobs. Many prominent pastors and members have been associated with Webster Chapel United Methodist Church. Since the days following the Civil War, it has played a significant role in the growth and development of Victoria's Black community. (1981)