National Register Listing

Saint John's Methodist Church

S. Ferguson St., Stamford, TX

<p>St. John's Methodist Church is one of the most significant structures in Stamford for both architectural and historic reasons. Historically, it has served for generations as the religious home for one of Stamford's largest denominations and architecturally it is a fine example of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century, Prairie Style church architecture designed by a nationally known architect.</p><p>The Methodist congregation in Stamford emerged as soon as the town building began. After using temporary quarters for several months, a lot was purchased in December of 1900, and a small frame building was erected. In 1907 Stamford College was established in the south-eastern edge of town as a Methodist institution of higher learning. By early 1909 the growing congregation decided to build a new and impressive structure between downtown and the new college campus to serve both communities better.</p><p>After arranging initial financing (and later borrowing $15,000 from the Southern Union Life Insurance Co. of Waco), the church hired two contracting firms (E.J. Holderness Co. and C.S. Oates &amp; Co.) and began the magnificent structure designed by James E. Flanders of Dallas. While construction began in 1910, it took two years of start-and-stop work to complete the exterior of the building. Construction was interrupted by both funding problems and a direct hit by a tornado which severely damaged the unfinished building in 1910. The Methodist congregation chose Flanders to design their church because of his proven track record of impressive churches and courthouses in many Texas cities. Flanders produced an impressive design that uses the Prairie Style with some Gothic features to create a truly unusual structure.</p><p>Once the exterior was completed, funds dried up, and work on the building slowed. The congregation moved into the building in February of 1912 but struggled for ten more years, until 1922, to complete the interior.</p><p>Since its exterior completion in 1912, St. John's Methodist has served as the spiritual home of the large Methodist congregation in Stamford. It has been the religious focal point for one of the town's largest congregations, as well as a local landmark for all its citizens. The church dominates the entire downtown area, towering over the lesser one- and two-story structures in the area. Architecturally it is an exquisite structure perfectly preserved since its original construction, and still serving its congregation faithfully after seven decades of use.</p><p>St. John's Methodist Church bears strong similarities with Flanders' Trinity Methodist Church in Dallas (National Register 1975, burned and removed. 1983). The Stamford church is located between the central business district and an older residential neighborhood.</p>

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.