Details for Pleasant Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5159009848

Data

Marker Number 9848
Atlas Number 5159009848
Marker Title Pleasant Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery
Index Entry Pleasant Hill Methodist Church and Cemetery
Address
City Mt. Vernon
County Franklin
UTM Zone 15
UTM Easting 286000
UTM Northing 3664246
Subject Codes cemetery; churches; Methodist (Methodist Episcopal and United Methodist) denomination
Marker Year 1993
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location from Mt. Vernon take SH 37 about 5 mi. south to FM 900, go west about 2 mi. to CR 3170, go south to cemetery
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text About 1850, near a spring at the foot of this hill, early settlers of this area gathered for Methodist camp meetings. According to local tradition it was at one of these meetings that a lady's remark that "this is a pleasant place," resulted in Gideon edwards, the owner of the land, calling the site Pleasant Hill. The Rev. Carter (McCarter) organized the Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church in 1854. In that year Gideon and Jane Edwards deeded five acres here to the newly formed Methodist Church for sanctuary and cemetery purposes. a log sanctuary was built in 1854. The first recorded burial was that of Robert L. McGill in 1864. In 1874 Texas Governor Richard Coke spoke to about 1100 people who gathered here to dedicate the placement in the church belfry of a bell made in England. The church built a new sanctuary in 1880 and added board planks to its arbor in 1888. A later church building was razed about 1950, the time the congregation is believed to have disbanded. The bell was subsequently repositioned atop the improved arbor. The beloved bell was sold to a resident of nearby Mt. Vernon in 1974. Pleasant Hill Cemetery, which contains the graves of veterans of the civil War, World Wars I & II, and the Korean Conflict, continues to serve the community. (1993)

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