First United Methodist Church of Arlington

The old name, Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, South, carried a history. At the 1844 General Conference, the Handbook of Texas says, debate over slavery grew so intense that delegates from slaveholding states withdrew and recommended forming a Southern church. Texas Methodists voted in 1845 to join it, and Northern Methodists could not organize in Texas until 1853. Black Methodists had worshiped in Texas congregations since 1822, often in separate services. The Arlington congregation dropped the word South from its name in 1948.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Arlington This congregation was established soon after the Texas and Pacific Railroad line was laid through Arlington. In 1877 the Rev. J.T. L. Annis was appointed pastor of the Arlington circuit, which served several area communities, including Arlington. Some of the fellowship's early worship services were held at Schultz's Lumber Yard on Front Street. By 1900, however, a small frame church building had been erected at this site, and Sunday schools, mission activities, and a women's division had been organized. Church membership continued to grow over the years, and facilities were added and expanded to meet the need. Known as Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, South, until 1948, the congregation then was called First Methodist Church of Arlington until 1968, when the current name was adopted. First United Methodist Church of Arlington historically has been a strong supporter of youth programs, the business and professional communities, the elderly, and education. Numerous Arlington schools have been named for members of this congregation who have provided significant service to community education. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cedar Ridge Preserve — 11 mi
  A 633-acre Audubon Dallas preserve at the western edge of Dallas County, with about nine miles of trails through prairie, woodland and escarpment hills.
• Tarrant County Courthouse — 13 mi
  A pink-granite courthouse of 1895 on the bluff where the Army set up Fort Worth in 1849, in a county named for the man who led the 1841 attack on the Native villages of Village Creek.
• Fort Worth Stockyards — 14 mi
  The brick-street cattle market where Armour and Swift built packing plants in 1902, now a National Register district with a Coliseum, a museum and a longhorn drive twice a day.
• Kimbell Art Museum — 15 mi
  Louis Kahn's cycloid-vaulted museum of 1972, built from Kay Kimbell's bequest and joined in 2013 by Renzo Piano's pavilion for the exhibitions the Kahn galleries could not hold.

More markers nearby

• P.A. Watson Log House — steps away
• Jopling-Melear Log Cabin — steps away
• North Side School — steps away
• First Baptist Church of Arlington — 0.4 mi