Clark Memorial United Methodist Church

The bell tells the church's other story. The first bell hung in the spire, called the Big Bell, came down for repairs and was stolen overnight. The congregation later bought its present bell from a Black congregation that had worshiped east of the old city lake property, disbanded and sold everything it owned. Children rang it to call people to worship, the church's own history says. The sanctuary at South 4th and Gates is the original frame building of 1901, built on a lot bought from S. W. Bolton on August 6 for $55.

What the plaque says

Clark Memorial United Methodist Church The organizational meeting for this church was held at the home of Mrs. S. J. Stevenson in 1893. The new congregation met for worship at the Stevenson home until 1901 when they constructed a small building on this site. Although many additions to the church complex have been made, the original building still serves as the sanctuary. During the 1920s the church was named Clark Memorial Methodist Church in honor of longtime member Mrs. John Clark. The congregation has produced a number of ministers from its membership. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site — 1.7 mi
  The two-story farmhouse west of Bonham that the longtime Speaker of the House built in 1916 and kept as his home, left as he lived in it and open as a museum since 1975.
• Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site — 24 mi
  The small frame house beside the Katy tracks in Denison where Dwight Eisenhower was born in 1890, bought by townspeople in 1946 and given to Texas in 1958.
• Eisenhower State Park — 29 mi
  A bluff-top park on Lake Texoma opened in 1958 on land leased from the Corps of Engineers, in the Red River country of Fort Johnson, Colbert's Ferry and the Butterfield stages.

More markers nearby

• Charles Henry Christian — 0.4 mi
• Bonham Cotton Mill — 0.4 mi
• Bailey Inglish — 0.5 mi
• Bonham Daily Favorite — 0.6 mi