FORMER Renner Methodist Church - Farmers Branch, TX - Methodist Churches on Waymarking.com

There are two historical plaques to be found along the walkway between the church and the old Farmers Branch schoolhouse. One was placed by the historical park, while the other was placed by the City of Farmers Branch, and it appropriately includes the two early Farmers Branch churches. Respectively, they read:

This church was the community Methodist church of Renner, Texas, dedicated there on March 18th, 1891, and is representative of churches built in small, rural communities in the late 1800's. The building style is similar to that of the Webb Chapel Methodist Church and the Union Baptist Church built in the early Farmers Branch Community.

Churches of this time period were centers for both religious and social activities of the community and sometimes housed the first school classes. Religious services were often dependent on circuit rider preachers who made their rounds by horseback to several small churches over a large area.

Such small community churches were more plainly decorated and sparsely furnished with a pulpit, pews and possibly a pump organ. They were lighted by kerosene lamps, heated by a pot-bellied stove or cooled by opening windows. The steeple houses the bell which was used to call the community to meetings.

This church has small side rooms used for Sunday school classes, and a pastors study that was added when the church was updated in 1914. The Renner Church's original wood pulpit was returned by donation when the church was moved to the Historical Park and restored in 1988.

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The "Old Church" is dedicated to the memory of the early settlers who established some of the first congregations in Dallas County. This turn of the century church, moved from Renner, Texas in 1985, is typical of early Texas churches in our area. The First Methodist Church in Dallas County was established in Farmers Branch in 1845 through the endeavors of Issac B. Webb. A Baptist church was organized in 1846. Through the years, congregations of many faiths have built their houses of worship in Farmers Branch, reaffirming the importance of religion in the lives of the city's citizens.

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The City of Farmers Branch provides some additional background on their website (see below), and there is a discrepancy between what it says and the historical park's sign: 1891 is given as the year that the congregation organized, while May 18, 1898 (versus "March 18, 1891") is given as the date of this sanctuary's dedication. There was no preacher, so the church utilized the services of a circuit rider for a large congregation of over 200 people. The congregation was active until 1957, briefly re-opening for two years in 1965. The sanctuary then took a turn as a wallpaper store, and in the meantime, Renner was absorbed by the City of Dallas in 1983. Interestingly, the church pulpit was moved to Toronto by an employee of the wallpaper store, used as a bookstand, and it was lovingly returned after the church had been restored in 1988. The park does make the sanctuary available for weddings and other events; see the website for more information.

Active church?: No Year Built: 1891 Service times: None Website: [Web Link]

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