First Methodist Church (Marshall, Texas)

First Methodist Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
First Methodist Church in 2016
First Methodist Church Show map of Texas First Methodist Church Show map of the United States
Location	300 E. Houston St., Marshall, Texas
Coordinates	32°37′33″N 94°21′59″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1860 (1860)
Built by	Alexander Pope, Billington Smalley
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	80004133[1]
RTHL No.	10157
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	July 16, 1980
Designated RTHL	1965

First Methodist Church (First United Methodist Church; Methodist Episcopal Church of South Marshall) is a ruined historic Methodist church at 300 E. Houston Street in Marshall, Texas. It has also been known as First United Methodist Church and as Methodist Episcopal Church of South Marshall. It is a stuccoed brick Greek Revival-style church with a portico having four monumental square columns; such architecture is rare in Texas.[2] It was added to the National Register in 1980.[1] A fire on the morning of December 9, 2024 destroyed most of the structure and left the building in ruins.

It was documented in 1936 by the Historic American Buildings Survey.[3] The portico was originally topped by a belfry but that was replaced in 1949 by a large octagonal cupola. It was built during 1860 to 1861, probably by slave labor. Its builders included mason Alexander Pope and carpenter Billingon Smalley. It was expanded in 1949 and in 1958.[2]

Enoch Mather Marvin served at First Methodist and was elevated to Bishop of Trans-Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South during his tenure in Marshall.[4] Marvin Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Tyler is named after him.

During the American Civil War, Confederate supplies were stored in the basement and it was the site of organization for the war effort. It was the site of the first conference, in 1862, of the Trans-Mississippi states convened by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Texas Governor Lubbock, Missouri Governor Jackson, and representatives of Arkansas and Louisiana participated.[2]

• 
  HABS photo of the North face of First Methodist in 1936.
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  HABS photo of the West face of First Methodist in 1936.
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  North face of First Methodist Church in 2005.
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  North and west faces of First Methodist Church in 2015.
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  First Methodist burns for the eleventh hour as fire crews from Marshall and Longview fight it as an excavator is brought in to demolish the western wall.
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  First Methodist stands in ruins on the afternoon of December 10, 2024 after the fire.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Harrison County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Harrison County

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. Wm. Keeton Turner and Lissa Anderson (April 22, 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Methodist Church". National Archives. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help) (accessible by searching within National Archives Catalog Archived January 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine)
3. "First Methodist Church South, 300 East Houston Street, Marshall, Harrison County, TX". Historic American Buildings Survey.
4. "Marvin, Enoch Mather (1823–1877), Handbook of Texas". Texas State Historical Association.

External links

• First United Methodist Church-Marshall from the Center for Regional Heritage Research, Stephen F. Austin State University