| Even as the population of DeLeon was growing, there were other churches and communities being established in the rural areas. The need for "community" and fellowship and support of other families was, and continues to be, tremendously powerful and necessary.
During the pioneer days the Methodist conference assigned preachers to an area to establish and serve several churches. They were called "circuit riders," and in the earliest days they traveled by horseback, or buggy or wagon. They held services {there is evidence that brush arbors and tabernacles served as shelters for meeting places in various communities until a more permanent structure could be built) and received members on alternating Sundays.
Other denominations (mainly Baptist in this area) also organized congregations in these same communities, so that when a preacher was holding services, members of the communities simply worshiped with the congregation whose preacher was there.
As the years went by, the predominant cotton crop gave way (due to boll-weevil infestation) to peanuts, the automobile and trucks revolutionalized transportation, farm roads were graveled, and then paved. Farm families who were non-land owners were "share-croppers" or "on the halves" farmers and moved their families from community to community frequently. Early membership registers of rural churches vividly confirm this trend, and document how people of all denominations readily joined the churches of their local community and worshiped together.
As DeLeon grew and various denominations built bigger churches within the city limits, the memberships of the circuit churches gradually filtered to the DeLeon churches. Just as progress and concentrations of people have necessitated the consolidation of schools, so it was that the rural church membership dwindled, and those families were given the choice of transferring to the church of their choice. The membership of DeLeon Methodist Church of today includes many of these Circuit Church members and their descendents.
DeLeon (1876), New Hope (1877), Victor (1877), Ross Chapel (1891). Downing, (1902), Morton Chapel (1910), and Beattie, (? --1964) have all shared the initial title, "Preaching Station." In the early years, the pastor who was assigned by the Church Conference to the DeLeon "Preaching Station" was additionally responsible for the Circuit Churches.
During the late 1800s and mid-1900s, when the rural circuit was flourishing, the Methodist Conference assigned a pastor for that group of churches. Additionally it provided a parsonage for the circuit pastor's family.
The first parsonage was located on the north side of the railroad on either Fannin or McKinney streets. That building no longer exists. A new parsonage was built for the pastor at 601 E. Ross.
Assisting in the various Rural Church activities across the years have been many dedicated local pioneer ministers and laymen. In 1964 no pastor was assigned for the DeLeon Circuit. The DeLeon Appointment was designated as "The DeLeon Parish, which included Downing and Morton Chapel. The Downing Church disbanded in 1984. Morton Chapel is the only "DeLeon Circuit" Church that remains active and continues to be served by DeLeon's appointed pastor.
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