Brookeland, Sabine County
Present Brookeland is located in an area served by pioneer Methodist preachers beginning in the 1840s. During that era, circuit riding preachers conducted worship services in local homes. Thomas Jefferson Jacks was one of the earliest to minister to settlers in this part of Sabine County. What is now Brookeland was then on the Bear Creek circuit. In 1876, Mary L. White Hamilton conveyed three acres of land for the establishment of a church, school and cemetery. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that organized as a result of her donation later became Brookeland United Methodist Church. Members held early services in the community schoolhouse. In 1907, during the pastorate of the Rev. John C. Campbell, the parishioners began construction on a new church building at this site purchased by the trustees. Over the ensuing years, church facilities here have expanded to meet the needs and programs of the growing congregation. For more than 100 years, Brookeland United Methodist Church has been a vital part of the surrounding area. In addition to being a spiritual leader, the church has also functioned as an institution of stability, continuing services through the many decades, even during times of population decline and years of the Great Depression. Today, the Brookeland United Methodist congregation, with its historic ties to pioneer settlement in Sabine County, continues to have a strong influence on the community it serves. (2006)