United Methodism in North Texas began in 1816-17 as part of Arkansas Methodism in the Missouri Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When the denomination divided in 1844-45, Methodists of this area became a part of the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1867, the approximate area of what is now this conference was set apart as the Trinity Conference, and later (1874) renamed the North Texas Conference.
The Methodist Episcopal Church had little organized work in Texas after 1845, until 1867 when a Texas Mission was formed. Out of that Mission came the West Texas Conference (primarily Black). In 1939, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and The Methodist Protestant Church united to form The Methodist Church. The West Texas Conference, while a part of The Methodist Church, was in the Central Jurisdiction (all Black). The North Texas Conference was a part of the South Central Jurisdiction, which was one of the geographical jurisdictions.
At the Uniting Conference to form The United Methodist Church, which took place in Dallas in April 1968, a new Annual Conference was formed in North Texas including members, congregations and ministers of the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Church of the South Central Jurisdiction (1939-1968), and members, one congregation and one minister of the Oklahoma-Texas Conference of the Evangelical and United Brethren Church (1886-1968).
At a merger conference, which took place in Dallas in May 1970, members, congregations and ministers of the North Texas Conference and members, congregations and ministers of the West Texas Conference located within the geographical boundaries of the North Texas Conference became the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church.
In 1988, the South Central Jurisdictional Conference, meeting in New Orleans, created two episcopacies from what had been the single Dallas-Fort Worth Episcopal Area. This action resulted in the geographical region encompassed by the North Texas Conference being designated the Dallas Episcopal Area, while the Central Texas Conference became the Fort Worth Area.