First Christian Church of Palmer
Palmer, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1853 disciples in the area around Rockett and Brushy Creek (8 miles northwest) established a church called "Liberty-Sylvania". Members of the congregation were instrumental in the formation of new churches in Corinth, Ferris, Palmer and Waxahachie. Two members of the church at Rockett, Robert "Uncle Bob" Smith and his wife Lavisa, moved their family to Palmer in 1868. With their help the First Christian Church of Palmer was organized that same year. A one-room schoolhouse served as the first meeting place. An agreement, signed in 1880 by representatives of the Baptist, Christian, and Cumberland Presbyterian churches of the town, called for the construction of a community church building. Completed later that year on Dallas Street, the Palmer Union Church sanctuary was used by all three congregations. Each church was assigned a specific Sunday of every month for their services. Members of the First Christian Church constructed their own sanctuary at the intersection of Dallas and Jefferson Streets in 1898. The congregation moved to this site in 1940 when the present brick edifice was completed. The church bell, still in use, is from the Palmer Union Church building.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation traces its roots to an 1853 church near Rockett and Brushy Creek whose members helped plant new churches across the area. When Robert "Uncle Bob" Smith and his wife Lavisa moved to Palmer in 1868, they helped organize the First Christian Church there, first meeting in a one-room schoolhouse and later sharing a community "union" sanctuary with the Baptist and Presbyterian congregations, each taking its assigned Sunday. The congregation built its own home in 1898 and moved to the present brick church in 1940, still ringing a bell salvaged from the old union building.
Why it matters
The shared union church, with three denominations rotating Sundays under one roof, captures the practical ecumenism of small Texas towns where scarce resources bred cooperation across faiths.
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Related people
- · Robert "Uncle Bob" Smith
- · Lavisa Smith
Themes & tags
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