Fields Chapel Methodist Church and Cemetery

The church building burned to the ground overnight on a Thursday in June 2003, KLTV reported on June 21 that year. A building joined to it by a breezeway was saved, and investigators had not ruled out arson. The station said the congregation was founded before the 1850s by John W. Fields and had served the community for generations. A Find a Grave listing records an annual homecoming on the grounds and a historical marker in front of the church. It also mentions the more than 100 graves marked only by iron ore rock behind it.

What the plaque says

Fields Chapel Methodist Church and Cemetery Pioneer settlement began in this vicinity in the late 1830s and early 1940s. This area was the location of several camp revival meetings. The Rev. John W. Fields organized the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1852 and the church was named for him. Trustees elected were W. R. Anglin, J. J. O'Quinn, E. W. Hassell, Joseph Shaver, A. J. Killion, L. D. Fulton, and A. K. W. Jones. Adrian Anglin donated land to this congregation and property deeds were signed on June 23, 1853. The church members built a church that also served as a school. That structure was in use until the late 1940s, when a white brick sanctuary was erected. The cemetery may have been in use prior to the date of the church organization, as there is evidence of more than 100 unmarked graves identified only by iron ore rock, native to the area. The oldest marked grave dating to November 8, 1858, is that of Arminda Florence Langston, infant daughter of Willis B. and Amarillo Anglin Langston. The burials include many pioneer settlers and their descendants and veterans of the Civil War. The community has gathered for homecoming, a social event held annually on these grounds. The church and cemetery continue to serve this area of Anderson County. (1996)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 7.2 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.
• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site — 21 mi
  Three earthen mounds of an ancestral Caddo village and ceremonial center on the old El Camino Real, settled about A.D. 800 and still sacred to Caddo people, with a grass house and visitor center.

More markers nearby

• Mewshaw State Sawmill and Maydell CCC Camp — 5.3 mi
• Texas State Railroad — 7.2 mi
• Murdoch McDonald — 7.9 mi
• Maydelle — 9.2 mi