First United Methodist Church of Port Lavaca

The congregation's founder volunteered for the Texas Mission in 1838, and his bishop sent him with a note calling him "a man who is not afraid to die or sleep in the woods." Joseph P. Sneed, born near Nashville in 1804, rode into Texas at Gaines Ferry on February 8, 1839, and held the Victoria circuit in 1840-41. From 1855 to 1865, with a break in 1861-62, he preached at the Port Royal African Mission, a decade given to enslaved people that no other White preacher in early Texas matched.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Port Lavaca The First Methodist Church of Port Lavaca was organized in 1841 by the Rev. Joseph P. Sneed of the Victoria circuit. By 1844 the Lavaca congregation had joined the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Though hurricanes plagued the area, the congregation persevered. The 1862 building was destroyed in 1875; its 1898 replacement, which harbored the bell of the ravaged Indianola Methodist Church, was lost in the storm of 1945. A complex of facilities was completed in 1958, with a new sanctuary added in 1975. The First United Methodist Church of Port Lavaca continues a tradition of service to the community. (1998)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• First Presbyterian Church of Port Lavaca — 0.3 mi
• San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad — 0.5 mi
• Alsatian Immigration Through Lavaca Bay — 0.5 mi
• Beach Hotel — 0.6 mi