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Settlement of Acton, originally known as Comanche Peak Post Office, began in the early 1850's. By 1855 several local churches, including the Methodist congregation which gave rise to this church, formed a union church and shared a sanctuary on nearby Walnut Creek. Beginning in 1868 union church services were held in the Masonic Lodge Hall. Acton Methodist was well established by 1873, the year it hosted the Methodist Church district conference. In 1874 church trustees purchased 4.4 acres here from V.S. Anglin and G.W. Patton for church, school, and burial purposes. The congregation built its first sanctuary in 1899 and a tabernacle in 1908. Other facilities, built over the years, supported a growing congregation and housed fellowship and sunday school programs. The name of the congregation was changed to the Methodist Church in 1939 and to Acton United Methodist Church in 1968. Construction of the nearby de Cordova Bend Reservoir in 1966 restored prosperity to this area and resulted in a steady expansion of the Acton Methodist congregation; membership in the church grew from 106 in 1973 to 1196 in 1993. The church continues to serve the community with a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs and activities. (1994) |
