First Christian Church of Terrell
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1876 with 18 to 20 charter members, this church met in borrowed quarters until its first sanctuary was built on this site in 1881. That building had become inadequate by 1895, as the membership had grown tenfold, so a new structure was erected, complete with stained glass windows and steeple. Land for the parsonage was acquired in 1913. In 1923 the present brick sanctuary was dedicated, along with its spacious educational facilities. The fine pipe organ with echo and chimes greatly enhances this edifice.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1876 with fewer than two dozen charter members, the First Christian Church of Terrell met in borrowed rooms before building its first sanctuary here in 1881. Explosive growth—membership rose tenfold in less than twenty years—drove a succession of ever-grander buildings, from a steepled, stained-glass structure in 1895 to the brick sanctuary dedicated in 1923. Its expanding facilities trace the prosperity of a growing North Texas railroad town.
Why it matters
The church's steady rise reflects how quickly frontier-era Texas communities matured into settled towns with substantial civic and religious institutions.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Saint John Catholic Church
Terrell, TX
Terrell sprang up in 1873 when the Texas & Pacific Railroad reached this point, and this parcel—the oldest church site in town—was acquired by Bishop Claude-Marie Dubuis in 1876. The first church was dedicated that November, joined by an outdoor shrine in 1945 and a remodeling in 1949. The site has anchored Catholic worship in Terrell for well over a century.
Robert A. Terrell Home
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This octagon-shaped house was built in 1864 for Robert A. Terrell (1820–1881), a pioneer settler whose 1845 log cabin once stood here and for whom the town of Terrell was named. Octagon houses were a briefly fashionable American experiment, believed to offer better light and air, and few survive in Texas today. The home passed through a succession of owners after 1897.
Cartwright House
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This Victorian residence went up in 1883 for Matthew Cartwright (1855–1925), a third-generation Texan who was a rancher, banker, and civic leader, and his wife Mary Cynthia Davenport. One of the first large homes in Terrell, it was enlarged in 1893 to accommodate a household of ten children and a steady stream of visiting artists and statesmen. It reflects the prosperity of a leading family in a growing North Texas town.
Robert A. Terrell
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Robert Adams Terrell wandered from Tennessee through Kentucky, Missouri, and Louisiana before reaching the Republic of Texas around 1840. As a surveyor he located headright land grants across North Texas—paid in vast tracts of land—served in Republic expeditions, and enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. The town of Terrell rose on land he had surveyed and took his name.