The Rev. Acton Young

Young's Woodville work began as a mission. The Handbook of Texas lists Woodville Methodist Church as a mission in 1849 or 1850, with Acton Young as its first pastor, when the county seat was a few years old and its first courthouse, a two-story log building, had just been finished. The county he served grew from 1,894 people in 1850 to 4,525 in 1860. Baptists and Methodists have dominated its churches since the start, and Fellowship Church was established in 1867. Young died in 1873.

What the plaque says

The Rev. Acton Young (January 16, 1823-April 16, 1873) Born in Tennessee. Settling in East Texas, he married Margaret McMahan, daughter of founder of chapel called earliest permanent Texas Protestant Church. Licensed as a Methodist minister, Young served (1849-73) many communities, including Woodville. Here he had family home and at one time a store operated by son-in-law Bronson Cooper, who later served in the United States Congress. His children were Phebe, Samuel Doak, Charles Acton, and Ettina. Recorded - 1972

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — 14 mi
  A 705-acre state park on Steinhagen Reservoir at the meeting of the Neches and Angelina rivers, with about 14 miles of paddling trails through sloughs and more than 200 campsites.
• Big Thicket National Preserve — 22 mi
  Start at the Kountze visitor center, where rangers sort the preserve's scattered units for you, and learn why Congress made this 1974 string of pearls the country's first national preserve.

More markers nearby

• John Henry Kirby and Education in Woodville — 0.3 mi
• Texas Statesman Allan Shivers — 0.4 mi
• Lt. Col. Philip A. Work — 0.5 mi
• Tyler County — 0.5 mi