Rockdale, Milam County
From the town’s founding in 1874, Rockdale methodists worshipped in shared facilities. The first methodist pastor to serve in Rockdale was reverend R.F. Beasley. In 1882 under the leadership of Rev. W.H. Henderson, John S. Barnes and Jacob s. Wetmore sold two lots on East Cameron Street to “A.B. Leach, J.N. Redding, R. Robinson and C.M. Keith, trustees, methodist church in Rockdale.” A frame structure, with stained glass and concave tented steeple, opened in 1883. The site soon served the local population as not only a site for religious activity, but also education. Early educator Maggie Hall moved her school to the site in the 1880s or 1890s. To house the 1881 school bell, the steeple was remodeled into a bell tower. The church hosted the methodists’ 1900 Texas annual conference. In the 1950s, the Alcoa plant brought jobs to Rockdale, and the church experienced growth. In 1960, the church celebrated groundbreaking at a new site on Hillcrest Drive. A new $350,000, 320-seat building was constructed, complete with the 1881 bell. The rev. Robert a. Greaves was the first pastor to serve the new church. St. John’s organized mission societies since at least 1898, including the ladies home mission society, which took care of church facilities and visited the sick, and the woman’s foreign missionary society, which supported foreign missionaries. The two societies eventually merged and renamed themselves the women’s society of Christian service. In the 1970s, the all stars Sunday school class for special needs adults started. Notable persons associated with the church include longtime members Vaughnie Dudley and Juliett Frankyn, and writers George Sessions Perry, Leila M. Batte and Mary Belle Batte. St. John’s continues to be a place of community and hope. (2023)