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This rural congregation constructed its first church building on land donated by Mr. & Mrs. J. M. C. Yates in 1861. The log building, located at the present-day site of Red Bayou Cemetery, also served as a school. In its early years the church held camp meetings on a regular basis; families arrived in wagons, buggies, and on horseback to camp together under brush arbors for three to four weeks at a time. Worship services were conducted by circuit-riding preachers, among whom were the Rev. Jester White, the Rev. McDougle, and the Rev. Charles Edgar Lamb. In 1882 the church established a mission church known as Tapp Memorial in the nearby community of New Boston. Sometime prior to 1912 a new frame church building was built at the site of the original structure. The new church building also served as a schoolhouse until 1922. In 1938 the frame building was relocated to this site due to expansion of the Red Bayou Cemetery. Sunday School classrooms were added to the building in 1948 and again in 1952. In 1953 the congregation acquired a parsonage and called its first full-time pastor. A fellowship hall was added in 1987. Red Bayou United Methodist Church continues to serve the community with various outreach programs. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995 |
