This congregation was formed in 1887 when the Shelton and Oliver families began meeting with circuit rider C. G. Shutt in the Shelton home under the name St. Mark's Methodist Church. The Olivers began Sunday School meetings in 1888. The first Methodist church building on this site, largely funded by the efforts of church women, was erected in 1894 and dedicated in 1901. In 1903, when Oak Cliff was annexed to the city of Dallas, the church had 317 members; by 1911 there were 856 congregants. The architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats, designers of the 1903 Wilson Building in Dallas, the 1907 Flatiron Building in Fort Worth and the 1910 Scarborough Building in Austin, drew up plans for the Oak Cliff Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
The ambitious project was delayed for a time because of a lack of funds, but was resumed in 1915 and completed that year. The first wedding was performed in the building in January 1916. The edifice was dedicated in 1926 after the debt had been retired. By that time the membership was 1,649 and an educational building was erected. The church complex has been enlarged and renovated as needed. Though the sanctuary was damaged by fire in 1958, it was soon restored and back in use.
The Oak Cliff United Methodist Church building consists of two stories and a full basement. The brick-clad
edifice, designed on a cruciform plan, features a front facade dominated by a full height pedimented entry portico supported on cast concrete Tuscan columns. Other classical revival details, including cast stone coping, decorative brick frieze and palladian doors, make this structure distinctive.
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