First UMC of Brookshire Bell - Brookshire, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 47.003 W 095° 57.232
15R E 214425 N 3298441
This bell is located near the front entrance of the First United Methodist Church in the town of Brookshire, Texas.
Waymark Code: WMNCXJ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/16/2015
Views: 6
First United Methodist Church of Brookshire is located on 707 Cooper St. in Brookshire, Texas. A brief description of the church, per a nearby historical marker:
"This church traces its origin to the establishment of the Union Chapel Methodist church by the Rev. Churchill Fulshear in the former community of Pittsville (6 mi.S) in 1844. Union Chapel served settlers in this area and moved to a new location about 2 miles south of here in 1880. The church later changed its name to Asbury Chapel. The Asbury sanctuary was sold in 1893, the year Brookshire was founded, and the proceeds used to construct a new church building at this site. At that time the name of the church was changed to Brookshire Methodist Church. The Rev. J. W. Holt served as the congregation's first pastor.
New sanctuaries were built after damage caused by the storms of 1900 and 1915. Due to the country's involvement in World War I, the rebuilding of the sanctuary in 1915 was difficult and required that the church provide its own labor. Four classrooms were added to the church building in 1928. The church became a full station of the Methodist church in 1946. In 1953 a new sanctuary was built at this site and in 1968 the name of the church was changed to First United Methodist Church of Bookshire."
One of the old building's cast iron bells is now on display just near the churches front entrance. It has been hung 15 feet up and inside a small bell tower, but purposefully left attached to a cord reaching all the way to the ground so that it can be reached from the back-side of the tower (through a small latch) allowing for folks to still ring the bell.
A small dedication plaque on the north side of the tower itself reads:
"In memory of W.F. (Hack) Donald
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey A. Chapman
Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Zahimen"
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