The Ben Franklin Church was established in 1854. The first church building was constructed from logs several miles west of the present location. Ben Franklin was a part of amar County and challenged Paris as the population center of NE Texas.

The church probably grew out of the union of the congregations of the Giles and Simmons Academies under the influence of Rev

A deed was recorded in Lamar Co., giving the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church South of the Sulpher Mission, two acres of land, more or less, "to be used for building a meeting house and camp ground." The date was Dec. 7, 1854. The trustees were Robert Harrill, Milton J. Britton, George W. Helms, MG Little and IT Hendryk.

Early records of the individual Methodist church were very incomplete as reports were given for circuits or missions rather than by churches.

A large one room building was erected in the 1870's after a brush-arbor revival had been held by Rev. Shook of Ladonia.