Cherished Past, Challenging Future

Our History

From the Aug. 6, 1999 issue of Good Tidings

The history of First United Methodist Church of Richardson is one of vision: looking to the future to provide programs for its membership and the citizens of Richardson. Our church was organized on June 13, 1886 by Rev. Thomas Jefferson Milam and thirteen charter members, as the Methodist Episcopal Church South. From 1886 until 1898 the congregation shared facilities with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Richardson at Tyler and Texas Streets.

In 1898, the members sold an autograph quilt to help raise money for a new church building. They bought an acre of land at the corner of Polk and Greenville for $50.00, and built a little white frame church at a cost of $1,200. It had a pot-bellied stove to warm it in the winter, and the windows were opened the rest of the year for ventilation. By 1900, there were 50 members of the Methodist Church.

During the 1920's and the thirties, the farming community situated between two railroads and close to the city of Dallas continued to grow. In 1923, church membership was 130. The members of the Methodist church were mostly farmers and small businessmen with their business situated within Richardson on Main Street. As the community grew and with the coming of the Interurban, some of the members of the congregation got jobs in Dallas and commuted to Dallas every day. In 1924, the church launched another building campaign. The women started it off by raising $300 through oyster and shrimp dinners, public markets and bazaars. Once again the Cumberland Presbyterian Church shared their facilities while the new facility, a red brick church, was being built. Total cost of the building effort was $14,052. In 1939, the name changed to First Methodist Church (FMCR). Between 1886 and 1932 the church had 32 ministers, but since 1935 the church staff has increased with the needs of the church.

The arrival of Texas Instruments and Collins Radio to Richardson in the 1950's spurred a population boom and along with it came many Methodists. Within a ten year span Richardson's population went from 1,300 to 35,000. After outgrowing the facilities once more, the membership voted in 1958 to move to its current location west of Central Expressway on Beltline Road. In 1958, its first sanctuary was completed and named Fellowship Hall.
The present sanctuary was built in 1964 and by 1967 FMCR membership was 3,081 with an average worship attendance of 1,201. Youth ministry attendance was 430, demonstrating how all through its history the youth ministry has been of great importance to the congregation. With the uniting of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Protestant Churches, the name of the denomination changed again in 1968, from First Methodist Church to First United Methodist Church.

By 1971 the city was no longer a small farming community but the technological center of North Texas which fostered an increase in church membership to over 4,000. In the 1970's the church was the fastest growing congregation within Methodism with the fifth largest morning worship attendance. In 1976 the population of Richardson was 60,000 and the church membership was 6,000. Throughout the 70's and 80's the church's programs swelled to capacity: the music program, youth ministry, women's groups, singles ministry, Sunday school classes and other outreach programs. Several pieces of property adjacent to the present campus were given to the church as gifts. Seegers Chapel was built, and a separate piece of property was purchased on Custer Road for more church related programs and community outreach. A child development center and preschool were added, and demands on the facilities became even greater.In the 1990's, the present facilities were renovated and a new parking lot was added, at a cost of over $3 million. One significant renovation was the addition of an elevator for access to the second floor.

In January of 1999, the members voted to embark on an ambitious campaign to further the mission of the church. The decision to purchase 3.4 acres adjacent to the First Center property demonstrates that the desire to meet the needs of its congregation and community are foremost in its vision. And, at age 113, FUMCR sits in the midst of high technology and reaches out in Faith and hope as a church of 6000, much like our founders did from their small farming community many years ago.

- Frances Long, FUMCR Historian, North Texas Conference Archivist

Note: There is an archive at FUMCR. Frances Long is a professional historian and has been caretaker of our history for 20+ years. Anyone interested in helping her can call the church office.