The church was established in 1839, according to its website. It has undergone many renovations and changes over its 185 years in existence.
MARSHALL, Texas — Crews are on scene after a historic East Texas church caught fire early Monday morning.
According to the Marshall News Messenger, the fire broke out at First Methodist Church located at 300 E. Houston St. in Marshall.
The church was established in 1839, according to its website. It has undergone many renovations and changes over its 185 years in existence. The current building the congregation is housed in was constructed in 1861, according to Stephen F. Austin State University.
“The First Methodist Church is one of the few monumentally scaled Greek revival church architectures in Texas,” SFASU states. “The building has been part of many historical events: ammunitions were stored within basement during Civil War and the first church bell was given to Confederacy and was replaced 1865 by one stolen from the Federal Army. The sanctuary was also a meeting place for the leaders of the south during the Civil War.”
The church was given a Texas Historical Marker in 1965 and was placed on the National Register in 2006.
Details are extremely limited, but CBS19 will update this article as more information becomes available.