{"nrhp_refnum":"74002269","name":"First United Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"129 W. Hutchison","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Marcos","county":"Hays County","state":"TX","lat":29.884206651000056,"lon":-97.94316459799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A white frame, cruciform Gothic Revival church built in 1893 at 129 W. Hutchison, on the northwest corner of Hutchison and Fredericksburg streets in San Marcos, Hays County, Texas.","why_significant":"The congregation was founded in 1847 alongside the town and was the first church organized in Hays County. Its early members included town founders and notable figures such as John D. Pitts, Alfred B. F. Kerr and Edward Burleson. The 1893 building is also considered a fine example of local nineteenth century architecture.","narrative":"Standing on the northwest corner of Hutchison and Fredericksburg streets in San Marcos, this white frame church was completed in 1893 in the Gothic Revival style. Its cruciform plan includes bayed transepts, steeply pitched gables with decorative bargeboards, finials, a circular stained glass window in the south gable, and a four-story bell tower with a pyramidal roof and spire. The congregation traces to 1847, when John D. Pitts organized the first Methodist church in his cabin, making it the first church organized in Hays County. Early members included Alfred B. F. Kerr, later the town's first mayor, and Edward Burleson, a former Vice President of the Republic of Texas. Earlier church buildings on this corner were lost to fire in 1868 and to poor construction, with walls torn down in 1891. Alterations since 1893 have been modest: a 1939 interior remodeling with memorial stained glass windows, an enclosed belfry, and a 1951 Fellowship Hall.","period_of_significance":"1893 (19th Century)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic Revival (described as Victorian Gothic)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition, unaltered, occupied and in religious use; few alterations in about 80 years, including 1939 interior remodeling and a 1951 Fellowship Hall addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.398724-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/9725/40972545/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/74002269.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002269/f526925856-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002269/f526925856-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Liveon001 ©Travis Witt","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Marcos_Methodist.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Liveon001 ©Travis Witt</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Marcos_Methodist.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972545","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Methodist_Church_(San_Marcos,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5454009"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hays-county/first-united-methodist-church-74002269/"}