Texas Historical Marker #10663
First United Methodist Church of Katy. This congregation traces its history to 1898, when a group of Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians, Quakers, and Methodists organized a Union Sunday School in the home of Willard James. Sometimes about 1900, the Methodists formed a separate fellowship. The Rev. M. L. Lindsey, first pastor appointed to this congregation, also served other Methodist churches on the Houston circuit. He was assisted by several of the early families of the church, including those of W. P. Bowers, J. E. Cabiness, E. M. Morton, and T. G. Roberts. Lay members held worship services during the early years when the minister could not attend every sunday. In 1903, land was secured from W. E. and R. M. Cash and from L. C. Luckel, and the foundation for a frame church building was laid. The Methodist sanctuary was completed in 1904, during the pastorate of the Rev. E. W. Potter, and was the first church building constructed in the town of Katy. It served the congregation until 1938, when a new sanctuary was built. The current structure was completed in 1961. Throughout its history, the First United Methodist Church of Katy has provided significant service and leadership to the community. The congregation continues to reflect the ideals and traditions of its founders. #10663
?, Katy, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #10711
The City of Katy. Karankawa Indians hunted buffalo on this site as late as the 1820s. Present Fifth Street follows the course of the San Felipe Road, which was opened to Austin's colony in that decade. In 1836 Santa Anna used that road in his march toward San Jacinto. This site was in the 1839 land grant of Republic of Texas citizen James J. Crawford. In 1863 at their camp on San Felipe Road, 35 Confederate soldiers died and were buried in the locality. Cane Island, the original settlement, was known as a stagecoach stop. Developers platted Katy townsite after Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad ("The Katy Line") reached this point in 1895. The post office opened Jan. 23, 1896, in the postmaster's mercantile store. In 1897, William Eule grew a rice crop, initiating the locality's major industry. Eule's son Fred dug an irrigation well for the rice fields in 1899. The 1900 hurricane razed or damaged all improvements except two houses in Katy, but the town was soon rebuilt. Beginning in 1927, nearby petroleum developments enhanced the local economy. Incorporated n 1945, the town had 849 people in 1950 and 3800 by 1970. It is a tri-county municipality, lying in Fort Bend, Harris, and Waller counties. #10711
5200 Second Ave., Katy, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #11675
First Baptist Church of Katy. On November 20, 1898, the Rev. T. L. Scruggs led the first official meeting of what would later become the First Baptist Church of Katy. Among the new congregation's first twelve charter members were W.H. Featherston, W. P. & Hattie A. Morrison and seven of their family and relatives. The Morrison and Featherston families did much to support the foundation and growth of the church, first named Zion Baptist Church. They met in the one-room Katy schoolhouse with several other denominations. The Rev. J. P. Durham, a circuit minister, was called as the first pastor. He visited once a month, alternating with the Methodists and others. In 1904 the congregation began to meet in a building erected by Katy Methodists. The Baptist congregation changed its name to Katy Baptist church in 1914 and erected its own building at a cost of $1,380. The Katy Baptist Church grew quickly with the rapidly expanding economy of the Texas Gulf Coast. A masonry building replaced the first worship center and the name first Baptist Church of Katy was adopted in 1948. Continued growth resulted in the addition of a much larger worship center and educational building in 1967. The church has contributed to worldwide missions as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention since 1905. Direct missions include an annual outreach in Mexico and the establishment of twelve mission churches in this area since 1946. The membership swelled to more than four thousand and the church relocated to a site just south of the original building as it celebrated its centennial in 1998. A white frame chapel was erected at the new site as a reminder of the first building and the original and continuing vision of the church. (2000) #11675
600 Pin Oak, Katy, TX, United States