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This congregation was organized shortly after the Civil War to serve the newly freed slaves of the Huntsville area. The earliest worship services were conducted in 1868 in the Union Church building at this site. The sanctuary, located on land donatd by local French merchant John Courtade, was shared with a Baptist fellowship. Straughter Hume, Joshua Houston, William Baines, W. Fayle, and William Sinclair, the first trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, purchased the Union Church building in the 1870s. Also known as the Freedmen's Church, the original membership included Solomon Jones, Jeff Lockhart, John Clark, Mary Baines, Sarah Smithers, Harriet Hendricks, Eliza Jones, Kizziah Lacy, and others. For many years the structure also served as a schoolhouse. Some of the teachers were Lizzie Stone, Texana Snow, Jacob Cozier, O. A. Todd, and Mollie Flood. A new wooden sanctuary with a belfry was constructed at this site in 1894. Under the leadership of The Rev. Lee of Navasota, the first black presiding elder, the church experienced a period of considerable growth. Since 1868 St. James United Methodist Church has played a significant role in the development of Huntsville. |
