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Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Denison, Texas  ca 1875 The
city of Denison was founded in 1872 as a terminus for the
Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroad. The
city began as
a melting pot of many different cultures and included some very
colorful characters in the beginning. Nearly 3,000 people
called
Denison home in 1875 with over $3,500 worth of city lots sold within
the first day of lot sales. A main commercial district was
quickly established along Main Street while the less desirable
businesses such as saloons were required to remain on a side street
known as "Skiddy Street".
Several different religious denominations began to sprout up in Denison rather quickly after the town was founded, one of the first of which was the Methodist Episcopal Church South. As the town grew, more and more people began making Denison a permanent residence rather than a stop along the railroad lines, and by 1886 the city had a population of approximately 11,000. With the influx of all different people entering the town, more establishments were needed and more churches sprouted up to better serve the growing population. One church in particular was willing to brave the undesirable red light district, known as Skiddy Street, to help spread Christianity throughout the fledgling city; that church would eventually come to be known as Waples United Methodist Church. Southern Methodism had its first entrance into Denison's history in 1873 when a Mr. Ball came to Denison to take a census to learn how many citizens were Methodists. Ball's trip to Denison was a success and he was able to find some 40 citizens who were of the Methodist denomination. On March 14, 1873, Reverend Alexander Jamison was sent by Bishop Wiley to Denison to represent the missionary Board of the Methodist Episcopal Church to organize a church in Denison. In March of 1875, the Southern Methodists began to seek bids for the erection of a house of worship that was to be located at 430 W. Skiddy Street. Shortly thereafter, the new mission church was complete and ready for worship services. The mission church began under the leadership of Reverend Z. Parker and was a mission project of the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The church was a one-room style building with a bell tower. The mission on Skiddy Street continued as a mission church until 1881 when it was granted an official charter. By this time Methodism had gained such a following within the city that it was no longer deemed a mission and became a true church of Denison with its first regular pastor, Reverend C.I. McWhister. On January 13,1881 in order for the mission to become a church in the Methodist Episcopal Conference, the church building was purchased by the conference at a sum of $200 so as to make it an official asset of the Methodist Episcopal Church rather than a mission church. The Methodist Episcopal churches in Texas in 1887 were growing so rapidly that it led to the organization of an annual conference in many areas including the Sherman-Denison Conference. Around 1887, Mr. and Mrs. E.B. Waples, for whom the church is named in memory of, became members of the young Methodist congregation. Mr. Waples came to Texas in 1877 and resided in Sherman for the first ten years that he lived in Texas before settling in Denison in 1877. He became a senior partner in the grocery firm of Waples, Platter & Company, and also had a large interest in the Bluff City Lumber Company. Mr. Waples and his wife were strict members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and were regarded by the citizens of Denison as "two of the most upright and valuable members of the community". On December 31, 1888, the Trustees of the Methodist Church executed a note to Mr. Waples in the amount of $1,692.76 bearing ten percent interest and secured by a mortgage on the property. On March 5, 1891, the note amounting to $1,692.76 (plus $540 in interest) was released to the church on on the payment of only $1.00 to Mr. Waples. Southern Methodism continued to grow in Denison until the congregation quickly outgrew the first church building, and in 1898 plans for the main auditorium of a new church began. Under the pastorate of Reverend P.C. Archer, the members of the church began to make plans to construct this new sanctuary so as to give the congregation a larger place of worship. The new building was to be located at 830 West Main Street and to be constructed of red brick. The site chosen for the new church was significant because it was the site of the first permanent residence in Denison; this residence was established by Dr. Morrison and was a one-room log cabin. Construction quickly began on a beautiful brick structure with stained glass windows that would serve as a beacon on Main Street in the still young "Gate City" known as Denison. Sadly, Mr. Waples died on October 4, 1898, and was not able to witness the completion of the church, yet he did live long enough to see the foundation of the new structure completed.  1899 - 1965 As Mr. Waples lay in his death bed, he called his children to him, and said, "I will shortly lay down the thread of life and if you children do not take up where I left off and finish this building and support of this church, Southern Methodism will get a setback in Denison that will take years to overcome." It was at this time that he gave the first monetary gift towards the new church structure in the amount of $3,000. His children and grandchildren remained steadfast in their support of the church and construction was completed in April of 1899. The new building was heralded as the finest church in North Texas with its tall spires and stained glass windows. The purity and richness of the colors of the stained glass within the church was due to the art of European glass cutters. The light fixtures were made of heavy brass hoops with seven individual brass shades attached. At this time, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, Bishop Key, visited the congregation and told them, "This church is here today because of the faith and effort of Mr. and Mrs. Waples and I want to see it named Waples Memorial Methodist Church, South." And from then on the Methodist Episcopal Church South of Denison was no more and was replaced with Waples Memorial Methodist Church, South.  [1]
1875 Photograph Source: The History of Grayson County Texas by Grayson County Frontier Village, 1979, pg774 Methodist Episcopal Church South History Churches Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |