First Methodist Church of Goldthwaite

First Methodist Church of Goldthwaite. . , Goldthwaite Methodists trace their history to the mid 1850s when circuit-riding preachers began traveling to the area to minister to barely permanent settlers. The pioneers gathered for services in private homes, out of doors or in a one-room schoolhouse for a time they were led by the Rev. H. Childress, who was known as the "bear-hunting preacher" because of the firearms he carried for protection while traveling. , In 1885, the Santa Fe Railway founded the town of Goldthwaite. The town's railroad crew and passengers formed a ready market for goods and services, attracting new residents who formed a local congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that year. The Rev. C. V. Oswalt was the first pastor, and within two years the congregation completed its first church structure, a wood frame building. Since that time the congregation has built several progressively larger church structures to accommodate its growth. , Due to denominational mergers, the congregation changed name to the First Methodist Church in 1939, and to the United Methodist Church in 1968. , Active in missionary and social service since its beginning, the First Methodist Church remains an important part of the religious life of this community.