First Presbyterian Church of Crockett
Crockett, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church was established in 1854 by an act of the East Texas Presbytery. The Rev. W.C. Dunlap was organizer of the congregation and served as its pastor for two years. Members met in a Baptist church until the completion of their first building on N. Fourth Street. In 1886 a new building was constructed at this location. It burned on Christmas Day, 1926, and was replaced by the present structure. The church is also known as Tenney Memorial in honor of The Rev. S.F. Tenney who served as pastor for 54 years, 1971-1925. (1980)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1854 by the East Texas Presbytery, this Crockett congregation first met in a Baptist church before building its own home, replaced by a new building on this location in 1886. That structure burned on Christmas Day 1926 and was rebuilt as the present church. It is also known as Tenney Memorial for Rev. S.F. Tenney, who served as its pastor for 54 years.
Why it matters
The church reflects the deep roots of organized religion in antebellum East Texas and the long continuity of its congregations.
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Related people
- · Rev. S.F. Tenney
- · Rev. W.C. Dunlap
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Baptist Church of Crockett
Crockett, TX
Baptists were worshipping in Crockett as early as 1846, and in 1850 a congregation was formally organized as Mt. Zion Baptist Church, building its first sanctuary along the old El Camino Real. Renamed First Baptist Church of Crockett, it worshipped in the county courthouse during construction, lost a sanctuary to fire in 1946, and relocated to a new home by 1949. More than a century of moves and rebuildings traces the growth of this East Texas town.
First Methodist Church
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Andrew Edwards Gossett
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Andrew Edwards Gossett (1812–1890) donated the townsite that became Crockett, the seat of Houston County, which was carved from Nacogdoches territory in 1837. Giving land from his own colonist's grant, he provided the young Republic of Texas county a central place to conduct its government. His gift literally put the town on the map.
Site of the Crockett Hotel
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This corner of Crockett has hosted commerce since 1837, when surveyor James H. Collard opened a general store here. The Collins family kept a store on the spot for decades until 1890, when the Pickwick Hotel rose in its place. Rechristened for frontier hero Davy Crockett in 1927, the hotel even housed county offices during a courthouse rebuild before fire finally destroyed it in 1972.