First Christian Church of Santa Anna
Santa Anna, Coleman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in 1894, this congregation worshiped in various places until members purchased this lot in 1900 and began construction of their own building. The Rev. E. M. Douthit and the Rev. B. B. Sanders led the dedication ceremonies in April 1901. A solid brass bell hangs in the off-center entry tower and spire that dominates this frame church. The interior has original beaded ceiling and wainscoting. The kerosene lamp in the vestibule has been converted to electricity. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A congregation gathered in Santa Anna in 1894 and, after years of borrowing space, built its own frame sanctuary on this lot at the turn of the century. Dedicated in 1901, the church still shows its origins in a brass bell in the entry tower, original beaded ceilings and wainscoting, and a vestibule lamp once fueled by kerosene. Its survival marks the steady settlement of West Texas in the decades after the frontier gave way to farms and small towns.
Why it matters
Country churches like this one anchored newly settled communities, providing the social and spiritual center around which frontier towns took shape.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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When the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1886, Santa Anna boomed as a cattle-shipping point, and this cemetery grew with it—its oldest dated monument marking sixteen-year-old Mary Ashley, who died in 1885. Among the buried are the town's first station agent and Texas Rangers John R. Banister and John Benecke Bachman, along with veterans from the Civil War through Vietnam. Fraternal sections for Masons, Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, and the Eastern Star reflect the social fabric of the community.
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