Kilgore in Gregg County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
St. Luke's United Methodist Church
Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, March 20, 2023
1. St. Luke's United Methodist Church Marker
Inscription.
St. Luke's United Methodist Church. . The Kilgore Methodist Society was organized in 1873 after many residents of New Danville (4 mi. NE) moved to Kilgore, founded in 1872 after the railroad arrived in 1871. They erected a school building in 1873 at Martin and North streets (1 blk. N) for the Rev. Isaac Alexander (1832-1919), who transferred his New Danville Masonic Female Academy to Kilgore, renaming it Alexander Institute. He also conducted Sunday services there until 1883. , In that year the neighboring Methodist congregations of Kilgore, Crossroads, Danville, and Pirtle formed the Kilgore Methodist Circuit, with the Rev. F. J. Browning as first pastor. In 1894 the Institute (later renamed Lon Morris College) moved to Jacksonville. Kilgore Methodists continued to meet in the Institute chapel. , In 1904 the chapel was moved one block southwest (across Martin Street from this site). It was replaced there in 1915 with a frame sanctuary which was burned by arson in 1931 during the Kilgore oil boom. , This fieldstone sanctuary and the annex were built in 1932, and the 109-member Kilgore congregation became St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church, South, with the Rev. Bob L. Pool as the first full-time pastor. The Tudor Gothic buildings were designed by Paris, Texas architects Smith and Praeger.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985
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The Kilgore Methodist Society was organized in 1873 after many residents of New Danville (4 mi. NE) moved to Kilgore, founded in 1872 after the railroad arrived in 1871. They erected a school building in 1873 at Martin and North streets (1 blk. N) for the Rev. Isaac Alexander (1832-1919), who transferred his New Danville Masonic Female Academy to Kilgore, renaming it Alexander Institute. He also conducted Sunday services there until 1883.
In that year the neighboring Methodist congregations of Kilgore, Crossroads, Danville, and Pirtle formed the Kilgore Methodist Circuit, with the Rev. F. J. Browning as first pastor. In 1894 the Institute (later renamed Lon Morris College) moved to Jacksonville. Kilgore Methodists continued to meet in the Institute chapel.
In 1904 the chapel was moved one block southwest (across Martin Street from this site). It was replaced there in 1915 with a frame sanctuary which was burned by arson in 1931 during the Kilgore oil boom.
This fieldstone sanctuary and the annex were built in 1932, and the 109-member Kilgore congregation became St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church, South, with
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the Rev. Bob L. Pool as the first full-time pastor. The Tudor Gothic buildings were designed by Paris, Texas architects Smith & Praeger.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985
Erected 1985 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 9995.)
Location. 32° 23.097′ N, 94° 52.421′ W. Marker is in Kilgore, Texas, in Gregg County. It is on East Main Street near North Martin Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 East Main Street, Kilgore TX 75662, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 23, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 437 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on March 23, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
