First Presbyterian Church of Alice
Alice, Jim Wells County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On November 6, 1898, twenty-one ears after the founding of Alice, fifteen people met with an evangelist, the Rev. A.H.P. McCurdy of the Western Presbytery of Texas, to organize a mission church. The fifteen charter members were Mrs. Anna Adams, Mr. M.D. (Frank) Ayers, Mrs. Alice Mary Ayers, Miss Sadie P. Ayers, Mrs. Lillie Beckham, Mr. Walter Caldwell, Miss Lillie Clark, Miss Annie Doughty, Mrs. Mollie Gibson, Mr. W.A. Hinnant, Mrs. M.J. Jones, Miss Carrie E. Mosser, Mrs. Annie Schoebaum, Mrs. Sarah R. Staples, and Miss Ann Staples. The Rev. Mr. McCurdy served as first pastor. In January 1903, the Presbyterian Ladies' Aid Society was formed with fourteen member. By December 1903 the society had raised enough money, through such enterprises as ice cream socials, oyster fries, and bazaars, to purchase land on this site for a price of $137.75. In July 1908 a white frame church building was completed, and in 1912 a two-story manse was erected next door. The mission became a self-supporting church in 1937. A new brick building was erected in 1938, and an educational building was added in 1948. The structure was remodeled in 1979 to fit the congregation's growing needs. In 1998, the First Presbyterian Church of Alice had 181 members. Continuing in the traditions of its founders, the congregation remains involved in community service and outreach, mission programs, and worship activities. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1898, twenty-one years after Alice was founded, fifteen charter members met with a traveling evangelist to organize a Presbyterian mission church in this South Texas town. Its Ladies' Aid Society, formed in 1903, raised the money for the church's land through ice cream socials, oyster fries, and bazaars. The mission became a self-supporting church in 1937 and has served the community ever since.
Why it matters
The women whose socials and bazaars bought the church's land show how female fundraising quietly built much of frontier Texas's religious life.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · A.H.P. McCurdy
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Martha (Reagan) Rabb (February 25, 1826-March 20, 1901)
Robstown, TX
Martha Reagan Rabb (1826–1901) came to Texas from Tennessee and, with her husband John, built a successful open-range cattle operation near Banquete under the Bow and Arrow brand. When John died in 1872 leaving more than 10,000 head, Martha took the reins and changed course entirely—foreseeing the end of the free range, she bought land aggressively during the panic of the raid-plagued Nueces strip. Within a year she owned over 43,000 fenced acres, earning her the title "Texas Cattle Queen."
Alice
Alice, TX
In the 1880s two rail lines crossed in what was then Nueces County, and a townsite sprang up at the junction. Known first as Bandana and then Kleberg, it settled on the name Alice when a post office was granted in 1888, and homes, schools, and churches followed. Texas Rangers based their south Texas operations here, and in 1911 Alice became the seat of the newly created Jim Wells County.
McGill Brothers Building
Alice, TX
Sons of a Mississippi family, the McGill brothers built one of South Texas's notable ranching operations, purchasing the Santa Rosa Ranch in 1916 and rising to lead the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. In 1941 Frank McGill erected this office building for the family's ranching enterprise, reportedly patterning it after San Antonio's Alamo, which had impressed him on a visit. With its corbelled stone parapet and Greek touches, it later passed to a museum corporation as a South Texas landmark.
Jim Wells County
Alice, TX
Carved from Nueces County and organized in 1911, Jim Wells County took its name from Judge James B. Wells, a leading South Texas lawyer and political power. Born near Aransas Pass in 1854, Wells shaped the region's Democratic politics for decades until his death at Brownsville in 1923. Alice was chosen as the county seat.