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Methodist worship services began in Silsbee as part of a mission effort in 1901, when the community was a company town, a part of the lumbering and railroad operations of John Henry Kirby. Early Sunday School classes were held in an old passenger coach parked on a railroad siding, and the community was served in part by circuit riders from the Beaumont district of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.In 1904, Mattison Lonzo Storey, a ministerial student from Southwestern University of Georgetown, oversaw the formation of the church with 13 charter members. The next year, the Rev. Simeon David Horger became the congregation's first ordained minister. Silsbee women raised funds for construction of a Masonic hall, with space for religious and social functions on the ground floor. The Methodist congregation met there until 1907, when it built new facilities on land donated by the Santa Fe Townsite Company. Members soon built a parsonage and enlarged the church building, adding space for its growing Sunday School program. As the congregation continued to grow, John H. Kirby donated the former Odd Fellows Hall to be moved to the church property. A new sanctuary was built in 1929. Despite fires in the 1940S and 1980s, the congregation remained strong, rebuilding and expanding several times.After more than a century of worship and congregation, First United Methodist Church reflects the growth of Silsbee and continues to support its members and larger community through education programs, scouting, outreach, counseling and other services. (2004) |
