This church began with informal Methodist meetings attended by a small group of newly arrived families to Texas City in 1894. The congregation grew and became Texas City's first formally organized church in 1896. The Rev. E.L. Ashmore, a member of the Gulf Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (North) served as the congregation's first paid pastor.
    Compelled to seek a secure location after much of Texas City was destroyed in the 1900 storm, the congregation built it's first sanctuary at the corner of 3rd Ave. N. and 3rd Street by late 1900.
    A split between the older "Northern" and newer "Southern" factions of the church led to the formation of the separate Central Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1907. Although Central Methodist Church initially struggled, their sanctuary, built at the corner of 4th Street and 6th Ave. N. about 1915, eventually housed a congregation larger than that of it's parent church. The two congregations joined in 1938, before the denominational reunion, to form The First Methodist Church. In 1940, during the pastorate of the Rev. F. Clyde Woodward, the congregation built a new sanctuary at 5th Ave. N. and 4th Street. The church was renamed The First United Methodist Church in 1968.

Texas City First UMC
(Historical Highlights)

           First United Methodist Church (UMC) of Texas City was established by Rev. Dr. J.W. Bain, on 18 January 1896, as part of the La Porte-Texas City Charge.  In 1898, Rev. E.L. Ashmore was assigned as the first full time pastor of the church.
            57 more pastors have followed Rev. Ashmore to Texas City’s First Methodist Church and her alter-ego, Central Methodist Episcopal Church South.  Three church sanctuaries, 4 parsonages and several expansions and renovations have occurred since that modest beginning in 1896.
            At the time this this is written, the church has a congregation of 620 people.  There are 460 full members, 100 preparatory members, and some 60 constituency roll non-members visiting under para-care of the ministries of the church.
            The church’s future is secure and growing.  As the year two thousand-four matures, a new spirit is moving on the corner of Fifth Avenue North and Fourth Street.  A revised vision of the second century is abroad.  Worship attendance is almost double the previous year’s.  There are more visitors as new programs take form including a new worship service for youth by youth in the Memorial Chapel, and mid-week morning and evening Bible studies.  Staff is being added in the area of youth ministries.  Short and long range planning has begun and the existing staff and committee structure are being reorganized.
            First Church has “PICKED UP THE PACE” for CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM!

In the Beginning

            In 1892 a group of Minnesota investors founded Texas City to develop a port and industrial complex.  Among those who came was a group comprised mostly of Methodists who began a Sunday School about 1894.  Being Methodist the group used Methodist literature.  They met in various commercial buildings along Texas Ave. and by 1894 the group included Rev. E.L. Ashmore, a Methodist Episcopal Church minister.  In that era the two branches of Methodism in Texas were the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church South (ME South) that were created in 1844 when the Methodist Episcopal Church, the group was visited by Dr. J.W. Bain who formally established the group as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Texas City on January 18, 1896.  With 21 members, the church was part of a two church charge (the La Porte-Texas City Charge) and would be known in Texas City for the next 42 years as the “northern” church.  In 1897 Rev. Ashmore was appointed as the first full-time pastor of what was the first organized church in the town.  One tradition says that Mr. A.E. Newman had come to town to establish a Methodist college and that when the location was changed to northern Louisiana, he just stayed on and went into real estate to become a stalwart at First Methodist for years to come.
            The young church was challenged mightily when the great storm of 1900 destroyed the building where the Church had been meeting and they met in an abandoned residence while the congregation built a church building with lumber gathered from the storm debris scattered across the prairie.  The site at 3^rd Avenue and 3^rd Street was donated by the Texas City Company.  Completed in 1902 the building, with additions, served the congregation until Unification in 1938.

Early Recollections

            In May 1901, the program of the Church expanded to include a Ladies Aid Society that was active in the life of the Church for many years.  In April 1904 the Naomi Chapter of the Epworth League was established.
            In the early years, First Methodist was the only church in town, and as such, was a center of the social and religious life of the community.  Several of the early members had belonged to Methodist Episcopal South churches before coming to Texas City.  In 1907 ME South Presiding Elder Rev. Charles T. Smith assisted a few of these to form a new church that eventually became Central M.E. South Church.  Between 1907 and 1911 this church struggled.  In about 1911 when a number of First Church members transferred to Central, First Church member, Miss Ruth Strong, reported “all the school teachers went over to it”.  By 1912, Central was able to construct a building at Sixth Avenue and 4^th Street Rev. I.H. Bradford, pastor during construction, was followed by Rev. H.V. Watts in 1913.  Central Church grew from 74 members in 1912 to 164 in 1913 and was soon larger than the parent congregation on 3^rd Avenue, reaching 255 members by 1931.
            In 1913 the life of both churches was impacted by soldiers and their families when an Army Camp was established just outside the town.  In 1915 another hurricane swept over Texas City.  During the next five years, the Methodists, like the rest of the town, worked hard to survive the storm damage and the loss of the Army Camp.  World War I came and passed with little positive effect on the life of the two Methodist churches only four blocks apart. 
            In 1926, the Gulf Mission Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, was merged with the Southern German Conference, the Southern Swedish Conference and a part of the Oklahoma Conference to form the new Southern Conference.  The Rev. I.M. Bennington and Rev. C.H. Ragsdale each served part of that conference year.
            There is little evidence of animosity between the two Methodist churches in Texas City during the second and third decades of the twentieth century.  Pre-unification talks were followed locally and the two churches merged their congregations just before the Annual Conference in November, 1938.  First Methodist brought a membership of 140, their building on 3^rd Avenue, a two story parsonage and their pastor, Rev. Bruce O. Power.  Rev. Power reported to the Quarterly Conference in September 1938, “The building committee of the two Methodist Churches here have been meeting this summer and have decided to go ahead with the raising of funds to build a church building as soon as plans are completed by the architect.”  Initially, the unified congregation held worship services in the 3^rd Avenue sanctuary with both pastors participating at Annual Conference.  Rev. Power was appointed to fill the First Methodist pulpit and Rev. Bahler was appointed to St. James Methodist-Galveston.
            Rev. Ervin Jackson was in his study on April 16, 1947, the day of the fatal blast that rocked Texas City severely damaging the church building.  The church also lost several leading members, killed in the explosion, among which were H.J. Mikeska, President of Texas City Terminal Railroad, a trustee and leader in the Church and Graham McFarland, a chemical engineer for whom a Sunday School Class was named.  The church met in the high school for months as repairs were made to the buildings.
            With the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church in 1968, First Church became First United Methodist Church.

Building and Expansion

            The original 1900-1902 frame structure, that was constructed with salvaged lumber from the 1900 storm, was enlarged by adding an east wing in 1914 and again by adding a kitchen and recreational space in 1933.  The building was sold in 1940 following unification.  The first pastor in the completed structure was Rev. C.F. Buckalew.  Rev. J.R. Basket and Rev. J.J. Davis were pastors for the later additions respectively.
            In 1910, during the pastorate of Rev. E. Webb, a two story, six room parsonage was built on 3^rd Street next to the Church. 
            Central ME South Church, meeting in various buildings to include First Baptist’s building on 4^th Avenue N. during 1907-1910, purchased several potential locations during the era.  One of these became West End Methodist Church.  In 1912-1913 Central constructed its building at 4^th Street and 6^th Avenue North.  The church rented a parsonage until one was purchased in 1930 on the corner of 7^th Avenue North and 4^th Street.
            In November 1939, Rev. F. Clyde Woodward was appointed to First Church; in May, 1940, Bishop Hiram A. Boaz broke ground for the new sanctuary at the corner of 4^th Street and 5^th Avenue North which was dedicated in December of that year.  The church had grown to 623 members.
            Delayed by WWII the educational building was completed in 1946.  This was just in time to be damaged along with the sanctuary by the disastrous explosion on April 16, 1947, followed by months of repairs lasting into 1948.  Repairs included removal and relaying the stone veneer on the exterior walls of the sanctuary and changing the style of its windows; and also, adding new floor space for the pastor’s study.  The pastor was Rev. Ervin Jackson.
            In 1948 concurrent with repairs necessitated by the 1947 Disaster, a new parsonage was constructed adjacent to the Church and the old parsonage that had served Central Church and the unified First Methodist was sold.
            In the 1949-1951 time frame a surplus barracks building was moved from Camp Wallace to the site of the current Annex and altered to create church school space.  The men of the Church built a frame building to serve as a “Boy Scout House” and men’s Sunday School classroom on the site of the current Steed Memorial Chapel.
            After Rev. Dr. Walton Gardener came to First Church in 1953, the existing educational building was almost doubled in size and the educational annex building constructed.  The barracks building was sold and the Scout House was doubled in size and relocated to behind the parsonage.  The church had 1000 in Sunday School after completion of this building.
            In 1958 Steed Memorial Chapel was donated by Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Steed and dedicated by Bishop A. Frank Smith. 
            Following Hurricane Carla, the sanctuary interior was remodeled and redecorated to include new air conditioning, new pew ends, and a new choir loft.  Rev. Newt Brawner was pastor.
            During Rev. Don Little’s pastorate, a new parsonage was purchased on 20^th Avenue North and the pastor lived “off campus” for the first time since the late 1940s.  The old parsonage was eventually sold after being used by staff for several years.  Rev. Little brought Rev. Ron Petty to First Church as an associate to begin a series of years in which the training of new preachers was an ongoing activity.  The Pettys were followed by Wesley Welborn and the intern program that would eventually bring Dick Ford-White, Joe Port, Jr., Linda Kelly and Sandy Kimbrough to First Church.
            Rev. Ferd Dawson III was pastor when the Church purchased its first van and constructed a garage behind the Steed Chapel.
            In January, 1983, when St. George Episcopal Church lost their building to a disastrous fire, the Steed Memorial Chapel was made available to them while repairs were made.
            In 1981-1982, during Rev. Robert H. Robertson’s pastorate, an extensive renovation project gave a new look to the education facilities.
            A capital projects program was executed during Rev. Darwood Galaway’s (1997-2001) tenure resulting in massive repairs and improvements throughout the Church’s families.  The value was estimated at more than $100,000.

Gus Campbell

Copyright © 2010
First United Methodist Church
of Texas City