First United Methodist Church of Port Neches

In 1881 Rev. W. H. Crawford organized sixteen Methodists at the home of William and Mrs. Gentz at Grigsby's Bluff, riding about 200 miles a month and nearly dying in a fog between the bluff and Taylor's Bayou. In 1903 Rev. J. C. Kee drowned trying to swim the Neches on horseback. The 1919 sanctuary was paid for with $700 in pledges, $500 from the Texas Company and a $3,600 mortgage held by Carter Lumber Company, and the debt was cleared by 1925, according to W. T. Block's history.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Port Neches Before 1881 Methodists in Port Neches, then known as Grigsby's Bluff, were served by occasional circuit Riders who preached in private homes. On Sept. 6, 1881, the Rev. w. H. crawford conducted a meeting to organize the first local Methodist church which began with a membership of sixteen. Worship services continued to be held in members' homes until 1885. In that year a house, damaged in the process of being moved, was repaired and given to the church for its use. there the community held school classes as well as worship services by the light of coal oil lamps. A new building was erected in 1894 which served as both church and school until 1911 when a separate schoolhouse was built. A growing membership soon created the need for a larger building. Money was raised, and a new church was built in 1919 on the corner of Main and Nall streets where the congregation worshiped for thirty years. In 1920 the Rev. W. E. Hassler became the first full-time minister. During his pastorate, the church grew rapidly and a Vacation Bible School was started. The sanctuary on this site was erected in 1950. A new wing and an education building were added in 1961. By 1981 membership had grown to number 1,100. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum — 7.8 mi
  A re-created oil boomtown on the Lamar University campus, with a derrick, period shops, a 1941 granite monument and an optional re-enactment of the January 1901 Lucas gusher.
• Museum of the Gulf Coast — 7.9 mi
  Port Arthur's regional museum in a former bank building: fossils, Native Americans, the petroleum story, a 125-foot history mural and Halls of Fame for musicians, athletes and artists.
• McFaddin-Ward House — 12 mi
  A Beaux-Arts Colonial Revival mansion finished in 1906 and lived in by one family for 75 years, with free guided tours of three furnished floors, the carriage house and gardens.
• Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center — 15 mi
  More than 250 acres on Adams Bayou, begun by H. J. Lutcher Stark in 1937, with garden rooms, a cypress-tupelo swamp, a heronry blind and free pontoon tours in season.

More markers nearby

• First Baptist Church of Port Neches — 0.7 mi
• Grigsby's Bluff — 0.8 mi
• Tex Ritter — 1.1 mi
• Site of First Mercantile Building — 2.0 mi