Morton Chapel Methodist Church
Comanche County, Texas
by George Morgan
Someone has asked me to write the history of the Morton Chapel Church, and I guess I know the history of it as well as anyone. I have helped build and rebuild Morton Chapel three times.
The Morton family moved to the Turkey Creek community about 1910. There was a pretty lively Baptist Church there, and the Mortons all joined and attended both the church and the Sunday school.
About this time Mr. John Nabors worked up an "Alabama Reunion" at his home, and the Morton family were all there, and everyone else I think, for miles around came. They had a big dinner spread, and a hundred or more people were there. The young people played games and got acquainted; the older people sat in the shade of the big trees and talked. They decided we should have a Methodist church in the community; so they planned it then and there.
Alabama Reunion, 1910
Comanche County, Texas
I was eighteen at the time and didn't mind work; so we built a big brush arbor near where Henry Johnson now lives. We had a big meeting there, and at the close of the meeting Brother Swindall organized the Morton Chapel Church. Every family for miles around was there. Mr. Joe Clemons offered to give the land for the church, so it was built there. We dug a well and had a good well of water.
Some of the charter members were the families of Morgan, Morton, Nabors, Nowlin and the Jess Johnsons along with others. Abie Atlee had charge of the young people and taught the class. We won the "Banner" for the fastest growing and most progressive church! That "Banner" was a pretty thing, and we earned the right to keep it for two more years and then lost it to Stephenville.
Our preachers as they came to us: Brother Swindall, Brother Warner Moore, Brother J. D. Smoot, Brother H. B. Clark, Brother W. A. Franklin, Brother C. V. Williams, Brother Walter Griffith, Brother E. A. Lambert, Brother J. M. Clark, Brother W. A. Neal, Brother G. R. Wright, Brother R. H. Davenport, Brother R. T. Wallace, Brother George Smith, Brother W. E. Harrell (1938-1940), Brother C. A. Calhoun (1940-1945), Brother H. B. Sanders (1946), Brother R. L. Bowman (1947-1948), Brother Bob Collie, Brother Lloyd Sanders, Brother L. Gilbert, Brother W. E. Holt, Brother J. B. Cole, Brother Lovin Berry, Brother Bill Nuncy, Brother John Tiener, Brother Cecil Guthery, Brother Nelson Terry, Brother Richard L. Keller, Brother John Basham, Brother J. E. Morton, Brother Bobby Weathers, Brother W. L. Milner, Brother Charles McClure.
Excerpt from "The History of Morton Chapel Church", by George M. Morgan, page 25 of The Morgan Family, by Wanda Bassett Carter; photo used with permission from Sheridyn Morgan