MARSHALL, Texas — After a devastating fire destroyed an historic East Texas church, a sign of hope was found within the rubble.
Marshall Fire Marshal Scott Barmore shared photos with our news partners, the Marshall News-Messenger, of a child’s Easter egg that was spotted sitting in a fallen gutter among the debris of the First Methodist Church in Marshall.
Barmore and his team found the toy while assessing the damage during their investigation.
One commenter on the newspaper's Facebook page noted eggs are used to represent rebirth and new life, notably an Easter egg is used to symbolize Jesus Christ's resurrection.
"Yes, it is a symbol of a rebirth for us to look at and remember where our strength comes from," Peggy Medvedev said.
The fire broke out early Monday morning, burning the longstanding 163-year-old building on E. Houston Street down.
The church was established in 1839, according to its website. It has undergone many renovations and changes over its 185 years in existence. The current building the congregation is housed in was constructed in 1861, according to Stephen F. Austin State University. The church was given a Texas Historical Marker in 1965 and was placed on the National Register in 2006.
"The First Methodist Church is one of the few monumentally scaled Greek revival church architectures in Texas," SFASU states. "The building has been part of many historical events: ammunitions were stored within basement during Civil War and the first church bell was given to Confederacy and was replaced 1865 by one stolen from the Federal Army. The sanctuary was also a meeting place for the leaders of the south during the Civil War."
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