At one time, the area of eastern Oklahoma was part of a conference that included Missouri and Arkansas. Taking this time period into account pushes back date of a "first" Methodist work. The first Protestant Church service was held in the Pecan Point Methodist Circuit by Rev. Wm. Stevenson (see Personal Note page), a Methodist preacher in the vicinity of present Harris, McCurtain County, in 1818. (Although another source says the Methodists were present in 1816).
Two miles northwest was the well-known Harris Ferry. This area of Harris was an early white settlement on the Red River within the limits of Arkansas Territory. A marker for Pecan Point was erected in 1962 by the Oklahoma Methodist Historical Society, under the auspices of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Regular mission work among the Choctaws in this area was begun in 1831. The marker is Co-located with Harris House marker on U.S. 259 south of Harris.
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