First United Methodist Church of Trinity

Two histories date Trinity's Methodists differently. The church's own account, on the plaque, begins in 1872 with the Rev. John Woolam. G. H. Ramey Jr.'s manuscript history of Trinity, written in the late 1930s and kept at the Trinity County Museum, says the Methodist church was established in 1880 and that Rev. Hockadee was the first to preach. Ramey adds that its building, on the site of the old structure that later housed the Red Arrow Freight office, served all denominations until the others could afford churches of their own.

What the plaque says

First United Methodist Church of Trinity This congregation was organized in 1872, the same year the City of Trinity was founded. The Rev. John Woolam is credited with the establishment of the church and also served as its first itinerate minister. Woolam held services in Trinity one Sunday each month. his preaching circuit at that time consisted on 12 to 15 stations, including Trinity, Nevilles Prairie, Blackland, and Lovelady. Early worship services were held in the Barnes-Lister store in Trinity. In 1873 a one-room log schoolhouse was constructed, an it served for a tiem as a community church building as well. The Methodist congregation built the first sanctuary during the early 1880s at the corner of what is now Robb and Madision. The one-room building soon became too small for the growing fellowship, and additions were made in 1902 and in 1913. The current sanctuary was completed in 1928. Throughout its history, Trinity United Methodist Church has provided significant service and leadership to the community. With its emphasis on christian education and missionary programs, the congregation continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas Prison Museum — 19 mi
  A Huntsville museum on the history of the Texas prison system, where the electric chair Old Sparky, used for 361 executions from 1924 to 1964, is shown beside the rodeo and the escapes.
• Sam Houston Memorial Museum — 19 mi
  A 15-acre Huntsville campus with Sam Houston's Woodland Home and the Steamboat House where he died in 1863, a museum, an education center gallery and free grounds open dawn to dusk.
• Huntsville State Park — 24 mi
  A Walker County pine-forest park on Lake Raven, built from 1937 by a Civilian Conservation Corps company of African American veterans, with 21 miles of trails and 160 campsites.

More markers nearby

• Trinity Volunteer Fire Department — steps away
• Charles Nesbitt "Charlie" Wilson — steps away
• Waco, Beaumont, Trinity & Sabine Railroad — steps away
• Cedar Grove Cemetery — 0.4 mi