First United Methodist Church of Del Rio

The six founders of 1882 joined a conference that had taken shape decades earlier. In 1859 the Methodists carved the Rio Grande Mission out of the Texas Conference, bounded by Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Del Rio, Llano and San Antonio. By 1860 Texas Methodists numbered 39,021, and they were the state's largest denomination until after the Civil War. In 1866 the mission, now the West Texas Conference, was greatly enlarged, and in the 1880s new Methodist churches went up in western towns such as Abilene, Sweetwater, Midland and Vernon.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Del Rio Six individuals met on September 23, 1882 to create the Methodist Episcopal Church South, the forerunner of First United Methodist Church of Del Rio. These first congregants were Randolph Pafford,J. Lyman Bailey, William M. Bailey, Sarah Bailey, Rosalie Roberts and William G. Hancock. During the earliest days of the congregation's existence, church meetings were held in the homes of members. Pafford donated a town lot and $500 to the church in 1883, and a wood-frame structure was soon erected on cemetery street (now Pecan street), on what was then the northern edge of town. Growth of the congregation was modest into the 20th century, and a stone chapel was constructed in 1903-1904. The congregation grew to slightly greater than three hundred members by 1917, as members opened their homes to soldier trainees at Camp del Rio, later known as Camp Michie. Continued growth of the congregation created the necessity for another, larger facility, and the first service in the new building was held on may 31, 1931. The larger sanctuary was well justified, as the congregation doubled in size to over seven hundred members between the world wars. The growth of the city and the opening of laughlin air force base facilitated the enlargement of the membership to more than nine hundred during the 1960s. In 1968, the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church merged into the United Methodist Church. The church has promoted missions and charitable work after numerous hurricanes, as well as abroad in Mexico and Liberia, and also provides numerous outreach programs throughout the local community. (2008)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.5 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 0.6 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Val Verde Winery — 1.0 mi
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 9.1 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Camp Hudson, C.S.A. — steps away
• Val Verde County Courthouse Square — steps away
• John Taini — steps away
• City of Del Rio — steps away