Wesley United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll give it to you straight. Way back in 1848, Methodist settlers had put down roots around the Greenville area, but a proper congregation was still a ways off. What they had were circuit preachers, riding through on occasion, keeping the faith moving across the land.

For a couple of years, that was enough. Then came 1850, and thirteen charter members made it official. A Methodist congregation was formally organized, and those founding few meant business.

Now, they didn't have a church building yet, so they made do with what Greenville had on hand. Worship services were held in the Hunt County Courthouse, and in the Masonic Lodge building. You work with what you've got.

The congregation carried the name Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Greenville for quite a stretch, all the way up to 1896. That year, the fellowship adopted a new name. Wesley.

Simple, dignified, and it stuck. The marker calls Wesley United Methodist Church Greenville's oldest organized congregation, and it notes the role that church has played in the town's development and heritage across all those years. Thirteen people gathered in a courthouse, and from that, a cornerstone of a whole community.

That's not a small thing. That's Greenville.

What the marker says

Methodists who settled in the Greenville area were served by occasional circuit preachers as early as 1848. In 1850 a Methodist congregation formally was organized with thirteen charter members. Early worship services were held in the Hunt County Courthouse and in the Masonic Lodge building. Known as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Greenville until 1896, the fellowship adopted the name Wesley in that year. As Greenville's oldest organized congregation, Wesley United Methodist Church has played an important role in the town's development and heritage.