First Presbyterian Church of Houston
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized March 31 (Easter Sunday), 1839, in Senate Chamber, Capitol of Republic of Texas, Main at Texas, by the Rev. Wm. Youel Allen, missionary from the United States, and eleven members. James Burke was elected ruling elder. Services of worship and a Sunday School (begun on May 13, 1838) continued in Capitol while church building was being erected on site (NW corner, Main and Capitol) given by the Allen family which had founded Houston. The church was the first house of worship completed in Houston. Dedicated on Feb. 13, 1842, it was used for meeting of other denominations and groups. Here the House of Representatives met in summer of 1842, and President Sam Houston addressed a joint session of Congress. Thus the congregation repaid the Republic's hospitality of 1838-1839. Original church burned 1862; a brick structure was built in 1867, and served until the erection of a large stone edifice, Main at McKinney, 1894. Fire destroyed part of that building in 1932. The present church was occupied in 1948 and dedicated Sept. 12, 1954. Through the years, this church body has furnished many outstanding leaders to the businesses and professions of state and nation. (1970) (see other side) Founding members: A.B. Shelby, Marian Shelby, J. Wilson Copes, James Bailey, James Burke, Sarah Woodward, Isabella R. Parker, Edwin Belden, Harris G. Avery, Sophia B. Hodge, Jannet Scott. Pastors: J.W. Miller, 1844-50. L.S. Gibson, 1850-51. A.Fairbairn, 1852-53. J. Twitchell, 1855-56. R.H. Byers, 1857-59. T. Castleton, 1860-64, J.R. Hutchinson, 1864-67. W.C. Summerville, 1869-70. S. Frahe, 1870-71. J.J. Read, 1871-76. J.H. McNeely, 1877-79. E.D. Junkin, 1880-91. W. George, 1891-92. J.A. LeFevre, 1892-93. W.H. Leavell, 1893-1905. W.S. Jacobs, 1906-31. Charles L. King, 1932-61. John W. Lancaster, 1961-
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On Easter Sunday 1839, in the Senate Chamber of the Republic of Texas Capitol, a missionary from the United States and eleven members organized the First Presbyterian Church of Houston. Its first sanctuary, built on land given by the town's founding Allen family, was the first house of worship completed in Houston and hosted other congregations and even the House of Representatives — where President Sam Houston once addressed a joint session. Fire, growth, and rebuilding carried the congregation through four sanctuaries to its present home.
Why it matters
The church's early history is inseparable from that of the Republic of Texas itself, whose Capitol nurtured both the young nation's government and its first settled congregations.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the late 1830s, Houston was a raw new town on Buffalo Bayou, founded in 1836 by the Allen brothers in the months after Texas won independence from Mexico. It was also the capital of a young nation, the Republic of Texas. Muddy streets, rough buildings, politicians and fortune seekers all shared a town that was barely a few years old.
Organized religion was still finding its footing. Protestant missionaries from the United States came to Texas to establish congregations among the settlers. With few proper buildings available, worship often happened wherever there was room, and in Houston that included the Capitol itself.
The Republic's capital soon moved to Austin. During a period of crisis in 1842, though, government business returned to Houston. That is the setting for the most unusual part of this congregation's early history.
People & events
On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1839, the Rev. William Youel Allen, a missionary from the United States, met with eleven members in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol to organize the congregation. James Burke was elected ruling elder. A Sunday school, begun in May 1838, was already meeting there. The founders included men and women, and the back of the marker lists their names, honoring each of them.
While the congregation met in the Capitol, a church building went up on land given by the Allen family, Houston's founders. Dedicated on February 13, 1842, it was the first house of worship completed in Houston. The congregation shared it generously with other denominations and groups.
Then the favor came back around. In the summer of 1842, the Republic's House of Representatives met in the church, and President Sam Houston addressed a joint session of Congress there. The congregation that had once worshipped in the Capitol now hosted the government. Over the next century came fire in 1862, a brick church in 1867, a large stone building in 1894, another fire in 1932, and finally the present church, occupied in 1948 and dedicated in 1954. A long line of pastors carried the congregation through all of it.
Its place in the American story
This church's story is unusual because it is tangled up with the history of an independent nation. For a little less than a decade, Texas was its own republic, and this congregation took part in that period, worshipping in its Capitol and later giving its lawmakers a place to meet.
It also shows how organized religion took root on the American frontier. Missionaries from the United States carried their denominations west and planted congregations that became some of the oldest institutions in the region. Many of those churches outlasted the governments and towns around them.
The repeated fires and rebuildings are a familiar American story as well. Congregations like this one kept their identity through generations of destruction and change, and they grew with their cities. Houston grew from a frontier settlement into one of the nation's largest cities, and this church grew with it.
If you visit
The present church dates from the mid-twentieth century, not from the Republic era, so don't expect a log meetinghouse. What you'll find is a congregation with an unbroken line back to 1839, and the marker that tells its story.
Read both sides of the marker. The back lists the founding members and generations of pastors, a quiet roll call of the people who kept the church going through fires and moves.
If you're touring Houston, this makes a good stop alongside other sites tied to the city's early days and the Republic of Texas. It's a reminder that before Houston was a modern city, it was briefly a frontier capital, and this congregation was there from the start.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · William Youel Allen
- · Sam Houston
- · James Burke
Themes & tags
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