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Established in 1850 by the Rev. Pleas B. Bailey, this Methodist congregation erected the first church building in Sulphur Springs about 1852 on a site in the "Spring Lot" which surrounded the town's mineral springs. The property was purchased from Dr. Owen S. Davis, a charter member of the church and founder of the town of Sulphur Springs. The Rev. J. D. Lynch served as the fellowship's first resident pastor. The Methodists shared their original meeting place with the Baptist Church, founded in 1859. Delegates meeting here in 1867 organized the Trinity Conference, which later became the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. In 1870 the Methodists sold their building to the Baptists and the newly-formed Christian Church and moved to a larger frame structure on this property, purchased from William J. Johnson. A brick church building was erected here in 1893-1894. It was replaced by the present edifice, the fifth building occupied by this fellowship, constructed in 1917 during the pastorate of the Rev. W. D. Thompson. Active in civic, cultural, and educational activities, this congregation supported Central College, a Methodist institution which operated here, 1886-1895. |
