In 1857, before the town of Mesquite was incorporated, area residents began gathering occasionally for Methodist worship services led by circuit-riding preacher W. K. Masten in a nearby building known as the Frost Schoolhouse or the Bennett Schoolhouse. By 1863, the group had formally organized as the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and services continued in the schoolhouse until 1880, when charter members John L. and Lucy Futrell deeded this land to the congregation for construction of a church building. A small wood-frame structure was soon erected, and after it was damaged by a storm, it was rebuilt in 1900. When Mesquite was incorporated in 1887, charter member J. E. Russell became the town's first mayor, and the downtown area began to develop near the church site. As Mesquite's population increased, the congregation also grew, and several progressively larger sanctuaries were built after 1916. Because of denominational mergers, the congregation changed its name to the First Methodist Church of Mesquite in 1939 and to the First United Methodist Church of Mesquite in 1968.