Sexton Chapel United Methodist Church - Primrose (Ben Wheeler), TX
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member QuarrellaDeVil
N 32° 26.015 W 095° 36.197
15S E 255233 N 3591479
The Sexton Chapel United Methodist Church is located at the intersection of FM 314 and Van Zandt County Road 4905, in the Primrose community near Ben Wheeler, TX.
Waymark Code: WMQ14E
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/27/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Mark1962
Views: 1

They are a small, country church with no online presence, although they are mentioned in the occasional obituary. A Texas Historical Marker on the grounds provides some background about the area, but there is a reference to the church there as well:

Thomas Horsley received much of the land in this area from the State of Texas in 1847, and settlers began to arrive in the 1850s. Johnson Watts and his family came in 1858 and bought 820 acres of Horsley land. B.H. Denson, his family and 30 slaves moved to the area in 1859 and bought 1,890 acres. The Sexton community developed on the Denson and adjoining Watts land.

By 1866, when Denson sold land to John M. Williams, the deed excluded three acres for "Shilo Meeting House," believed to have been the area's first church and school. In the 1880s, Littleton Davidson and his family built a cotton gin, attracting more settlers. The one-room log New Harmony Church-School building east of Shilo Meeting House was in operation by 1880. It was east of and across the road from the cemetery. The first grave in the New Harmony Cemetery was that of James A. Fulgham, who died at age two in 1880.

The New Harmony school closed in the late 1890s. Fern and Ann Williams and Al Sexton conveyed two acres for the Sexton community school in 1899. The school grew rapidly. A federal post office was established in 1902 in Davidson's store under the name "Primrose," so residents called the community both Primrose and Sexton. J.D. Johns and his wife conveyed two acres for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1904, establishing the Sexton Chapel Church. The post office closed in 1910. In 1912 Al Sexton formally deeded two acres for the cemetery. A larger schoolhouse was built in 1914. It served the community until consolidation with the Van Independent School District in 1938.
Active church?: Yes

Year Built: 1961

Service times:
Sunday, 9:30 AM


Website: Not listed

Visit Instructions:

At least one photo. You're welcome to be in the picture, but please, No GPSr.

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