In 1876 a group of Methodists led by the Rev. P. E. Nicholson began meeting in private homes in the Dickinson area. In 1885 a frame building was erected for use as a church and school. The Dickinson congregation does not appear in official denominational records until 1893, when a report stated that minister was to be supplied to the church. After the first building was destroyed in the storm of 1900, a new structure was built using salvaged materials from the old church. Completed in 1901, the two-story frame building was also used as a school. In 1909 property was purchased for a third facility to be built in memory of W. E. Nolan. Additions were completed in 1935, and in 1937 the congregation received its first full-time pastor. In 1944, when the widow of church member Edwin P. Howell donated funds for a new sanctuary to be built in his memory, the name of the church was changed to Howell Memorial Methodist Church. With cornerstones from the 1909 and 1944 sanctuaries incorporated into its design, the present structure was begun in 1975. When completed, it was renamed First United Methodist Church of dickinson. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986