First Presbyterian Church of Cotulla
Cotulla, La Salle County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On September 4, 1884, the Rev. W. W. Killough, a visiting pastor, established this Presbyterian congregation. Members worshiped in the Methodist and Baptist churches before erecting their own church building in 1891, ;during the ministry of the Rev. A. J. Hall. The Rev. Harry W. Hamilton served as pastor from 1909 until his death in 1940. In 1963 the small frame church was destroyed by fire; only a silver communion service was saved. The present structure was dedicated in 1965.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A visiting pastor established this Presbyterian congregation on September 4, 1884, and for its first years members worshiped in the town's Methodist and Baptist churches before building their own sanctuary in 1891. The long-serving Rev. Harry W. Hamilton led the church from 1909 until his death in 1940. When fire destroyed the frame building in 1963—sparing only a silver communion service—the congregation rebuilt, dedicating the present structure in 1965.
Why it matters
The church's shared-sanctuary beginnings and its rebuilding after fire capture the resilience and cooperation that sustained faith communities in small Western towns.
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Related people
- · Harry W. Hamilton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
La Salle County
Cotulla, TX
Travelers had crossed this land on the old Presidio Rio Grande Road for centuries before the U.S. Army built and garrisoned Fort Ewell here in 1852 for protection. The first permanent settler, William A. Waugh, opened a rancho at the Cibolo Crossing in 1856, and in 1858 the county was created and named for the French explorer La Salle. County government organized in 1880, and Cotulla became the county seat in 1883.
Cotulla City Park
Cotulla, TX
Polish immigrant Joseph Cotulla came to present-day La Salle County in 1865, and when the town that bears his name was founded in 1882 he donated land for both the courthouse and this city park. In its early years the park served as a campsite for travelers and ranchers, then gained a bandstand at the turn of the century for concerts and lectures, and a miniature golf course and playground in the 1930s. It has remained a gathering place at the heart of community life ever since.
The First United Methodist Church of Cotulla
Cotulla, TX
Organized in 1881 as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, this was the first Protestant congregation in Cotulla, with its first services held in a settler's home. The 1883 frame chapel it built was the only church in town, shared for a time with the Presbyterian and Baptist congregations. Members raised the present brick sanctuary in 1906 and added an educational building in 1928.
First Baptist Church of Cotulla
Cotulla, TX
When town founder Joseph Cotulla gave land for a Baptist church in 1882, he helped plant one of the community's earliest congregations, organized around 1883–1884 by the missionary Rev. W. D. Johnson. Members worshiped in the Methodist sanctuary until they raised their own frame building in 1889, where the noted minister and educator John Van Epps Covey preached the first sermon. Covey lived in Cotulla and served the church at times until his death in 1898.