The current sanctuary of the FUMC is the fifth to serve the church, begining with a log building erected in 1846. First United Methodist Church of Liberty is No. 121 on the list of United Methodist Historic sites. The church website has the following about the history of the church:
"As the oldest church organization in Liberty County, the Liberty Methodist Church was only one of 17 appointments made at the first session of the Texas Conference held in the Republic of Texas which convened on Christmas Day, 1840 at Rutersville in Fayette County, Texas. The first preacher of the Liberty Methodist Church, John C. Woolam, arrived in the Spring of 1841.
It was not until 1846 that a church structure was built. The Town Trustees granted the Methodists a church site on the northeast corner of the "church square" where a one-room log church was erected. After a storm destroyed this building in 1853, the Town Trustees granted the "church square" to the Catholic Church which occupies the "church square" today.
The Liberty Methodist Church acquired a new site on Main Street in 1854 and built a wood-frame church on the site of the present sanctuary. This building served the congregation for 50 years and was followed by buildings constructed in 1904, 1930, and 1953. The pulpit and bell used in the 1854 church are still in use today. The chapel was constructed in 1980 as a gift from Triphene S. Middleton. Rev. Lindsey Smith is the 91st preacher to be appointed to The First United Methodist Church of Liberty since 1840."
Source
In front of the church building is a Texas Historical marker that provides additional information concerning the history of the Church. It reads:
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"Late in 1840, the Rev. Hugh Fields, migrating to Texas from Mississippi, preached the first Methodist sermon in Liberty in the log courthouse. Liberty was one of 17 communities in the Republic of Texas to receive a ministerial appointment from the newly organized Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church meeting in Dec. 1840. The Rev. John C. Woolam was named in the spring of 1841 to serve this congregation, the oldest church organization in Liberty County. Members worshiped at the Courthouse, in home or brush arbors until 1846, when they built a log church. After it was destroyed by a storm, the congregation moved to its present location and built a one-room frame structure in 1854. The church acquired a bell in 1873 from the steamboat "Black Cloud", which sank in the Trinity River. This bell is still in use. In 1904 a new two-room frame edifice was constructed. It was replaced in 1930 by a two-story brick structure, which became an education building after a new sanctuary was erected in 1953. This congregation participates in many community events, including the "Brotherhood Banquet", sponsored by the men's Bible class since 1927 and supported by persons of all faiths." |