In 1917, the 413 members of Stephenville’s First Methodist congregation constructed this three-story, exuberant Beaux Arts-style church of brick and limestone. The church faces the southeast corner of W. Washington St. and S. Barton Ave. A copper-colored dome supported by two colossal Corinthian columns and two Corinthian pilasters surmounts the church’s curved front. Three tall arched bays between the columns and pilasters contain three wooden double doors topped by stained-glass windows. A wide staircase leads up to the church entry from the corner sidewalk. On either side of the curved façade and domed entryway are two wings with gabled roofs. The east wing faces north along W. Washington St. and the west wing faces west along S. Barton. Large pediments surmount both wings within their gables. The façade of each wing features three upper arched windows and three lower rectangular windows separated by brick pilasters with Corinthian capitals. First Methodist, organized in 1854, was Stephenville’s first church. This Beaux Arts building replaced a frame sanctuary constructed on the same location between 1895 and 1897. First Methodist’s congregation constructed the three-story brick-veneered masonry education building between 1925 and 1927. The façade, or west elevation facing S. Barton Ave., features a recessed arched entryway with center keystone. Each floor has three bays, which were originally filled with wood windows painted white. The roof is a lowpitched
gable roof and at the top of the façade, within the gable, is a small arched window that mimics the arch of the
door. The education building adjoins the church through a connector at the north elevation of the education building and the south elevation, or rear, of the church. In 1975, architects Joe V. Line and C. Douglas Cain of Cleburne prepared plans to renovate the education building and designed an addition to its south. There were two visible changes to the exterior of the education building. Some of the glass was removed from window openings and replaced with what appears to be wood, however, the original window openings are intact. A tall narrow tower, which probably housed an elevator, was erected on the south elevation of the education building. The added one-story Fellowship Hall to the south adjoins the education building through a connector that leads into the added tower. With the modifications made during the 1970s, the education building retains architectural integrity and conveys its historic identity. However, the 1975 addition adjoining the education to the south is not contributing to the historic district. There were two buildings located along Columbia ave. constructed as a retail store between 1930 and 1949, this building has brick on its façade, or east elevation and its south elevation. It shares a wall with the mercantile building to its north. Its rear wall, or west
elevation, is built of concrete masonry units. The façade has three bays, with a door on its north end. The other two bays appear to have been windows, but they are now filled with wood. The upper wall extends to a straight parapet with raised corners on either end of the façade. This building has a low-pitched shed roof that drains to the rear, and is the south end of a row of three commercial buildings along the west side of S. Columbia Ave. This second building, constructed between 1949 and 1966, features a façade, or east elevation, of dark tan brick and wood infill within what appears to have been a large bay of windows. The front wall angles in to the door on the north end of the facade at a distinctive 45-degree angle, drawing customers in toward the door. Within the wood-infill area, there are now three metal double-hung windows. Above the bay is a wood awning that appears to be original, separating the lower bay and the upper brick wall. A wide metal cornice has been added to the top of the façade. The west, or rear wall of this building is constructed of concrete block and is also topped with an added metal cornice. The roof is a lowpitched shed roof that drains toward the rear of the building. This building is in the middle of a row of three commercial buildings along the west side of S. Columbia Ave.