FORMER Sabine Methodist Church - Sabine, TX - Methodist Churches on Waymarking.com

Sabine is 1½ miles south of the Sabine River, east of U.S. Highway 69, and three miles north of Lindale in extreme northern Smith County. Lindale Club Lake is southeast of Sabine and Mill Creek is to the south. By the 1840s the commercial activities of settlers from the South had established the Dallas-Shreveport Road, and the north loop of this thoroughfare ran through the area. The Sabine settlement, however, was not founded until 1899, when Rev. W. L. Pate organized the Sabine Methodist Church as part of his circuit. Joe Crone donated the land for the church, a cemetery, and a school. Brush arbor meetings were held there in the early days, and the church and school became the center of local activities. County records for 1903 showed that the Sabine School had one teacher and fifty-three White students. During the 1920s classes were held in a large one-story white frame structure, and the average enrollment was forty. The church remained active and in 1922 began to share a minister with the Lindale Methodist Church. By 1936 Sabine included a church, a school, and a small cluster of farms on bituminous and dirt roads. One elementary school had two teachers and forty-five White students, while the other, known as the Sabine-Saline school, had two teachers and seventy-six Black students. By 1952 both schools had been consolidated into the Lindale Independent School District, along with other local rural schools. In 1960 Sabine had a church, a cemetery, and several scattered farms, but in 1969 the local congregation transferred to the Lindale Methodist Church. In 1981 the community included only a few dwellings.

A 1985 Texas Historical Marker at the church entrance also notes the congregation's 1969 merger with the one in Lindale, and provides a bit of history:

Organized in 1894 by the Rev. W.L. Pate, this congregation was named for its proximity to the Sabine River. Land for the church, school, and cemetery was donated by Joe Crone. The fellowship was served first by circuit preachers, but in 1922 began sharing a minister with the Lindale Methodist Church. In 1969, the Sabine and Lindale congregations merged. Throughout its history, Sabine Methodist Church has placed an emphasis on Christian education and has provided fellowship for members who often live miles apart in the surrounding rural area.

The Sabine Cemetery Association (see Website, below) still uses the sanctuary for events -- there are some photos and video on their Facebook page -- and they take terrific care of the cemetery behind the church, which could date to the turn of the 20th century or the first couple decades of it. As the Handbook of Texas mentions, this is a rural area, and there may be a few dozen people living here.

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