Cedar Bayou Methodist Church is the second-oldest Methodist and third-oldest Protestant church in Harris County, Texas. Since its founding in 1844, it has played a huge role in the history of Baytown, Texas and understanding its history is key to understanding the early history of Baytown. The church has a fascinating history during the 19th century. Community life revolved around the church and, in a day without modern entertainment outlets like radio, movies, and internet, members relied on the social activities provided by the church. Cedar Bayou has meant many things over the years. The bayou that separates Harris and Chambers counties on the Texas Gulf Coast has lent its name to a geographic area extending from the Trinity to the San Jacinto rivers, a voting precinct that changed boundaries several times, an unincorporated town with indeterminate boundaries, an independent school district, schools at two different locations post offices at two different locations, and churches at two different locations. Cedar Bayou Methodist Church holds the original Quarterly Conference records of the Lynchburg Circuit from 1853 to 1871. This is one of only three such antebellum documents known to exist and, when the history of the church was first penned in 1897, it was the only early document used in the study. Recent research has turned up a wealth of additional resources in the form of two Methodist newspapers, the Texas Wesleyan Banner (1849-1854), the Texas Christian Advocate (1854-1931), both newspapers preserved on microfilm, as well as the digitized minutes of the Methodist Annual Conferences, and other newspapers that add details and also highlight errors in the 1897 study that resulted from the misunderstanding of the extents of the Cedar Bayou district in the mid-1800s. This book is the result of my study. I have quoted several passages from the 1944 church history that add color and a personal touch to the story.
