First Methodist Church of Burkburnett

Burkburnett township’s Methodists began attending church services on Sixth street in the early 1900s, in a one-room frame building that was a combination school, church, and social gathering place. M.W. and Lula Majors, who moved to the new town of Burkburnett to open a store, were instrumental in finding the Methodist congregation its own home. Lula, a former schoolteacher who also helped build the town’s first schoolhouse, joined with preacher Frank L. McGehee and other active Methodists in a campaign to build a sanctuary, earning her the name “Mother Majors.” Banker and philanthropist John G. Hardin helped several city churches develop through loans and donations, including the Methodist church that built a frame sanctuary at 5th Street and Avenue C. The church acquired a bell for the steeple, and the first organ came from the Nesterville Schoolhouse on Gilbert Creek. The congregation held its first service on April 12, 1908. Hiram A. Boaz, president of polytechnic college in Fort Worth and later elected Methodist Bishop, delivered the first sermon in the new church. The Methodist Conference named Circuit Rider McGehee the first pastor, and he preached here one Sunday a month. The church experienced periods of expansive growth along with Burkburnett, especially following the oil boom of 1918 and again with the enlargement of nearby Sheppard Air Force Base after World War II. The congregation built a new brick sanctuary in 1925 and added an education wing in 1957. The First United Methodist Church of Burkburnett has made contributions to the community for more than a century.

First Methodist Church of Burkburnett is a historical marker in Burkburnett, Wichita County, dedicated in 2008. It is one of 75 historical markers documented in Wichita County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 94 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 34.0987, -98.5722 near Burkburnett. The nearest cataloged historic site is First National Bank of Burkburnett (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Journey's End Cemetery, Journey's End Cemetery, and Fowler Discover Well (400 yards north).

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015429. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.