445 - Coldspring United Methodist Church - Coldspring, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 30° 35.552 W 095° 07.811
15R E 295757 N 3386378
The sanctuary, which is still used today, was erected in 1858. No significant structural changes have been made. The pulpit was modernized and the central partition separating slaves and the white congregation was removed.
Waymark Code: WMV6V9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/05/2017
Views: 3
The bell, which still calls us to worship every Sunday, is believed to be original to the 1858 building.
Coldspring had developed into a bustling county seat town by 1915, but disaster struck March 30, 1915 when the wooden courthouse burned, thus removing the economic foundation of the town. Plans for the present courthouse were made (finished in 1918) and the townspeople moved their buildings near the new courthouse. The Church and its parsonages were moved on rollers in 1916.
Through the years the sanctuary served as a community meeting place. In 1927, gubernatorial candidate Pat M. Neff addressed a capacity crowd there.
During the 1960's, it became glaringly apparent that the church building would need considerable work. A building committee attacked the problem, working long and hard. The congregation split. Restore or build "a nice modern brick facility?" ... that was the question. At one voting, the modernists prevailed by a narrow margin. Fortunately, a procedural error was discovered at the District level. A second vote had to be taken. The church would be restored. Fund raising began in earnest. Billie Trapp succeeded in securing $30,000 from the Moody Foundation. A very rare thing because the Moody Foundation did not, as a rule, fund churches. The sanctuary was restored under the professional guidance of an architect and the present education wing was constructed.
Type of marker: Numbered
UMC Historic Site #: 445
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