A Thumb-Nail History of the City of Houston, Texas kannt by Samuel Oliver Young

Author:Samuel Oliver Young [Young, Samuel Oliver]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Geschichte
Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
Published: 2017-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX.

Early Church Services — Organization of the First Churches — History of Church Building in Houston — Houston Today a City of Churches.

When the Aliens laid out Houston they set aside the quarter of a block on the northwest corner of Capitol and Main "for church purposes." The gift was to no denomination or sect, but was to all. A year or two later there was a small building erected on one of the lots and all denominations had the use of it. After the State House was built religious services were held in one of its halls.

While there is a legend that the first religious service ever held in Houston was under the spreading branches of a tree that grew on Market Square, in 1837, the fact remains that the first authentic evangelical service was that which occurred in 1836. The fact is a matter of record that Rev. Mr. Morrell, an itinerant Baptist preacher, who came to Texas before San Jacinto, preached in Houston in 1836.

It is rather singular that with all the "hard cases" that were in Houston in the early days, and the consequent necessity for taking precautions for controlling them, the first vigilance committee formed in Houston should have been composed entirely of preachers and that the object of the committee should have been to guard the public against being imposed on by fraudulent preachers. Such was the case, however, and the "Preachers' Vigilance Committee" was formed in May of 1837. There is no record of their executing any frauds, or of anything else they did. No doubt their very existence warned away frauds and thus accomplished what they desired without further exertion on their part.

The first church to secure a permanent foothold in Houston was the Methodist, which perfected an organization in 1837, the year after the founding of Houston. That year the Aliens donated to the Methodist brethren the half block on the north side of Texas avenue between Travis and Milam streets. The establishment of Methodism here was almost entirely the work of one individual, the late honored and revered Charles Shearn. Mr. Shearn was a most earnest and devout Christian and devoted his life to the advancement of his church. He brought from New Orleans, at his personal expense, a minister of the gospel, gave him a home in his own house, and was mainly responsible for the establishment, growth and influence of the Methodist church here. In later years he gave largely, both in time and money, to the church cause, and after the war he built, almost entirely with his own money, the church on Texas avenue, afterwards torn down when the site was sold. When the valuable property on Texas avenue was disposed of, and, having money, the congregation determined to build an imposing edifice, they put up a magnificent building on Main street and so far forgot their old benefactor, in the days of their prosperity, that his name was dropped entirely and Shearn Church became the First Methodist Church.

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