Fate Presbyterian Church
Fate, Rockwall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
When Presbyterians organized this congregation in the middle 1880s, the community of Fate was developing as a new settlement on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. Among the eighteen individuals who chartered the church were members of the Leonard, Kale, McLendon, Cooper, Wilson, Bonsel, Morgan, Holiday, and Sawyer families. In the early years, a circuit rider served as minister of this and other area churches. One early circuit rider was the Rev. J.A. Hornbeak (d. 1939), who was serving as minister of the Fate Presbyterian Church in 1894 when the members constructed the first sanctuary. Located on Brown Street, it was built under the supervision of head carpenter H.A. Kale (1834-1921), a charter member of the congregation. The church continued to worship in the structure until the early 1920s. In 1926, a new church building was completed at this site. With historic ties to the earliest days of the Fate community, the Fate Presbyterian Church remains an important institution in Rockwall County. Church members have included many community leaders and pioneer area settlers. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fate grew up in the 1880s as a new settlement along the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, and its Presbyterians organized a congregation there among the Leonard, Kale, and other founding families. A circuit rider served the young church, and in 1894, under head carpenter and charter member H. A. Kale, the members raised their first sanctuary on Brown Street. A new building followed at this site in 1926, keeping the congregation woven into the life of the growing railroad town.
Why it matters
Churches founded alongside the railroads trace how the rail network conjured new towns into existence and gave them their first lasting institutions.
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Related people
- · Rev. J. A. Hornbeak
- · H. A. Kale
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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