Liberty Methodist Church

Late in 1840, the Rev. Hugh Fields, migrating to Texas from Mississippi, preached the first Methodist sermon in Liberty in the log courthouse. Liberty was one of 17 communities in the Republic of Texas to receive a ministerial appointment from the newly organized Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church meeting in Dec. 1840. The Rev. John C. Woolam was named in the spring of 1841 to serve this congregation, the oldest church organization in Liberty County. Members worshiped at the Courthouse, in home or brush arbors until 1846, when they built a log church. After it was destroyed by a storm, the congregation moved to its present location and built a one-room frame structure in 1854. The church acquired a bell in 1873 from the steamboat "Black Cloud", which sank in the Trinity River. This bell is still in use. In 1904 a new two-room frame edifice was constructed. It was replaced in 1930 by a two-story brick structure, which became an education building after a new sanctuary was erected in 1953. This congregation participates in many community events, including the "Brotherhood Banquet", sponsored by the men's Bible class since 1927 and supported by persons of all faiths.

Liberty Methodist Church is a historical marker in Liberty, Liberty County, dedicated in 1977. It is one of 60 historical markers documented in Liberty County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 133 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.0607, -94.7960 near Liberty. The nearest cataloged historic site is Casa Consistatorial (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Henry O. Ager Home, Edward Thomas Branch, and Liberty Masonic Lodge No. 48, A. F. & A. M..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5291009673. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.