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In 1854, the Rev. Thomas Gilmore, a Methodist circuit rider, led a revival at Pecan Grove on the north side of Salado Creek. He organized a Methodist church and a Union Sunday school in a small frame building. During the next decades, the congregation met in a brush arbor and at Salado College before constructing a Carpenter Gothic sanctuary in 1890 on the corners of Stagecoach and Church streets. Initially served by pastors on the Belton circuit of the Methodist church, the congregation became part of the Salado circuit, or charge, which included churches in Bartlett, Bell Plains and Prairie Dell. At the turn of the 20th century, the Salado circuit remained active, with an Epworth League for the church youth and a missionary, Emma Stone (Poteet) Pilley, serving overseas in Japan and China. Members also started a church library. By 1910, the circuit consisted of the Salado, Bell Plains and Prairie Dell congregations, which all continued to thrive. Each included programs such as vacation bible school and the Women's Society of Christian Service, as well as active youth and Sunday school programs. The Bell Plains church consolidated with the Salado church in 1940, and in 1951, the Prairie Dell members did the same, moving their long-time sanctuary to Salado to serve as a fellowship hall for their new congregation. With a strong historic foundation of three area congregations, Salado United Methodist Church has continued to grow and thrive, contributing to its community through various programs and services. Due to area development, the church moved to this site in 2005, incorporating its 1890 sanctuary within new facilities. (2005) |
