Originally called Turners Point, this community was founded in 1845 by Elisha Turner. In 1855 the Methodist congregation paid Zachariah Turner and his wife Martha $20 for the original church site. The Rev. J. W. Fields, a Methodist circuit rider living in Kaufman County, witnessed the deed and may have been the organizer and first minister. After the name of the town changed to Poetry, this site was donated in 1886 by J. H. Tate and his wife Nancy. The circuit rider preached only once a month, yet the membership grew to 119 in those early days.