First United Methodist Church of Cisco
Posted by: 
QuesterMark
N 32° 23.168 W 098° 58.971
14S E 501613 N 3583237
This marker in Cisco stands next to the church, the history of which it summarizes.
Waymark Code: WM32ZH
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/01/2008
Views: 23
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry: First United Methodist Church of Cisco
Address:
City: Cisco
County: Eastland
Subject Codes: CH; ME
Year Marker Erected: 1980
Designations: na
Marker Location: Avenue H and West 8th
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Repairs Completed: Refinish.
Marker Number: 1883
Marker Text:
The Rev. Lamb Trimble, a Methodist circuit rider, organized this church at Red Gap (two miles west) in 1880. The four charter members met in the home of M.V. Mitchell, a sheep rancher. The congregation moved to Cisco one year later when the city was founded. Services were held in the schoolhouse until 1883 when the members built a sanctuary on this site. A company purchasing right of way property for the railroad donated the land. An 1889 building program, completed during the pastorate of the Rev. T.C. Ragsdale, doubled the size of the structure and added a parsonage. Both buildings were destroyed in 1893 when a tornado struck Cisco killing 23 people and injuring 93 others. Members formed a rebuilding committee and a larger sanctuary and parsonage were constructed, complete with electric lighting.
The population growth of Cisco during the Eastland County oil boom made the sanctuary obsolete, and in 1919 work began on a new church building. The Rev. Lewis N. Stuckey conducted the first services when the edifice was dedicated late in 1920.
On two separate occasions Cisco headed a district for the Central Texas Methodist Conference until consolidation with Brownwood in 1974. (1980)
|
Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.