First Christian Church of Howe
Howe, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First Christian Church of Howe In the 1840s, settlers moved to this area as part of the Peters Colony. In the early 1870s, plans for the Houston and Texas Central Railroad coming through the settlement brought new residents to the community, known as Summit. Renamed for railroad official F.M. Howe, the town of Howe was established circa 1872. That same year, several residents met to organize what would become the First Christian Church of Howe. Founders and charter members included George Miller, J.A. Hughes, Henry Stevens, J.A. Matthews, W.T. Copeland, Si Collins, C.E. Wheat, L.M. Davis, J.C. McBee, Jim McCoy and John Grigg, and members held their first Sunday School classes and worship services in homes, schools and other buildings. The congregation grew and purchased this site in 1893 from John W. and Minnie B. Simpson. The church, led by trustees Charlie Hanna, J.W. Bearden, and John and Frank Grigg, constructed a building on the site. The structure was one of four Protestant sanctuaries constructed in Howe during that period. Each had similar vernacular designs showing Victorian influences. Features included fishscale shingling, steep-pitched gable roofs and neo-gothic details. The First Christian Church congregation added an annex in 1925 and later purchased a parsonage on adjoining property. During its years as a congregation, the First Christian Church members held revivals in the churchyard and ministered and witnessed to those in the Howe community. In 1982, because of declining membership, the church disbanded, and members donated the sanctuary and site to the city, which prepared to use the facility for community purposes while maintaining a link to the community's past. (2003)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Houston and Texas Central Railroad pushed through the old Peters Colony settlement of Summit in the early 1870s, a new town rose around the tracks and took the name of a railroad official. In 1872, the same year the town was established, a handful of families gathered to organize a Disciples of Christ congregation, worshiping first in homes and schoolhouses before buying this lot in 1893 and raising a Victorian-influenced frame sanctuary. It was one of four Protestant churches built in Howe during those years, and it served the community until declining membership led the congregation to disband in 1982 and give the building to the town.
Why it matters
The church traces the familiar American arc of a railroad-born prairie town, where the depot brought the settlers and the congregations that anchored community life followed close behind.
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Related events
- · Founding of Howe, Texas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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