The Menard Christian church has stood at 105 Tipton since the church was built in 1904, and has been vacant since the 1970s.
Owned for many years by the City of Menard, redevelopment and reuse of the church is hampered by the unique sloped interior floor, which was intentionally built that way so that people in the back could see what was going on at the front.
In 2016 the church is still stable but vacant. Hopefully 2017 will bring a historic designation or marker to share this church's history with passers-by.
From the San Angelo Standard-Times: (
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"Community fighting to save church, heritage
Many residents have tales about its history
By Becca Nelson Sankey
Special To The Standard-Times
Posted Feb. 04, 2011
An account has been set up at Menard National Bank, 201 Ellis St., for donations to help save the more than 100-year-old Menard Christian Church, 105 Tipton St.
For more information, contact Kathy Wagoner at [phone] or [e-mail].
Along with their own recollections of time spent at Menard Christian Church, longtime residents tell stories of the church's history that happened before their time: baptisms in the river located a block away; seminary students who traveled to the church to preach; and the full-time female pastor who resembled an angel wearing a white gown as she delivered her sermons.
As the church approaches its 110th anniversary in 2014, a handful of residents in Menard, about 66 miles south of San Angelo, are trying to keep the tiny structure - and its history - alive.
The Menard Industrial Board, an organization under the Menard City Council, owns the church but has received two proposals: One potential buyer wants to move the church to South Texas; another wants to keep it in Menard.
Menard Industrial Board member Kathy Wagoner is spearheading efforts to keep the church under the city's ownership, but to do that, she and other concerned citizens are trying to raise funds to maintain it.
"The industrial board has put about $10,000 into it, and they've owned it since 1991," Wagoner said.
The fundraising project has raised about $3,600, and the group has established an account at Menard National Bank for people to make donations. An open house - along with a silent auction - was held in January for two days at the church.
"We've had a great outpouring," Wagoner said. "Luckily there's some older people who went to church there, and they remember some great stories about it. Every time an old person walks up, it's a different story."
The open house was organized to aid in fundraising efforts, Menard resident Susan Wheless said, and to allow the public to see firsthand what restorations the church needs. Wheless volunteered to help with the open house and silent auction.
"For a structure this old, it's structurally very sound, so most of what needs to be done is cosmetic," Wheless said. "When you start thinking in terms of cost, this is a fairly inexpensive structure to be saving."
Services haven't been held at the church since the 1970s, Wagoner said, and aside from two small failed business ventures there, it has since been vacant.
"We've had a couple (of people) who tried to lease it for different businesses, but it never did work out, and I think one of the reasons is the uniqueness of the floor in the church," Wagoner said. "The floor is built at a slant so ... you can see the front from the back, kind of like a theater. We don't want the floor changed."
Wheless said the group involved in saving the church must devise a plan of what to do with it. Turning it into a museum is one idea that has been considered, but "all of this is in the planning stage," she said.
"Our longterm plan is to get it on the Texas and National Historical Registry," Wagoner added. "Then we can go after grants to help us maintain the building."
The Menard church has been in the town since 1904, when the college now known as Texas Christian University built it as a means to reach West Texans through religion, Wagoner said.
"Their goal was to bring their young ministers from their seminary to preach in West Texas," she said. "Every other week, there would be a different young preacher that would come from TCU.
"They had a fulltime preacher ... and she's probably most remembered here because of her white gown, and everyone said she looked like an angel. This church is located one block from the river, and they would walk down there and do the baptisms in the river."
At one time, Wheless said, the church housed various denominations until they were able to build their own facilities.
Such history, Wagoner said, cannot be replaced.
"This church is one of four built like it in the whole United States," she said. "For Menard, it's their history. Menard was incorporated in 1876, and the church was built in 1904, so it is one of the first churches in Menard."
Holding on to the church has been a revelation for those involved, Wheless said.
"You just don't think about it, about these really neat old buildings and the houses," she said. "It's kind of an eye-opener for us that if we want to save our heritage, we need to put our money where our mouth is.""