Historical Marker

First United Methodist Church of Sulphur Springs

Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County · Texas
Erected 1976

The spring that the church's lot surrounded gave the town two names. A teamsters' camping place with stores and a hotel was called Bright Star; its post office opened under that name in 1854, and the Odd Fellows lodge carried it until 1949. The Handbook of Texas says the town became Sulphur Springs in 1871, when the mineral springs were being advertised to make it a health resort. By 1885 it had Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, two Black churches, three hotels, an opera house and two weekly newspapers.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Sulphur Springs Established in 1850 by the Rev. Pleas B. Bailey, this Methodist congregation erected the first church building in Sulphur Springs about 1852 on a site in the "Spring Lot" which surrounded the town's mineral springs. The property was purchased from Dr. Owen S. Davis, a charter member of the church and founder of the town of Sulphur Springs. The Rev. J. D. Lynch served as the fellowship's first resident pastor. The Methodists shared their original meeting place with the Baptist Church, founded in 1859. Delegates meeting here in 1867 organized the Trinity Conference, which later became the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. In 1870 the Methodists sold their building to the Baptists and the newly-formed Christian Church and moved to a larger frame structure on this property, purchased from William J. Johnson. A brick church building was erected here in 1893-1894. It was replaced by the present edifice, the fifth building occupied by this fellowship, constructed in 1917 during the pastorate of the Rev. W. D. Thompson. Active in civic, cultural, and educational activities, this congregation supported Central College, a Methodist institution which operated here, 1886-1895. (1976)

Where it stands

33.13936, -95.60095 · Directions

Worth the stop nearby

More markers nearby

← All historical markers