First Presbyterian Church of Longview
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church was established by nine resident members of the Old School Southern Presbyterian Church as a mission in the new town of Longview in 1872. The first church building was erected on land donated by the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1874. The Rev. James H. Wiggins was installed as the first full-time pastor. The congregation helped establish two mission churches in the area by 1894. A new church building was constructed in 1900 and a third at this site in 1940. The congregation continues to sponsor outreach and missionary programs in Longview and in other parts of the world.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Nine charter members of the Old School Southern Presbyterian Church organized this congregation in 1872 as a mission in the brand-new railroad town of Longview. The Texas and Pacific Railroad donated the land for its first building in 1874, and the Rev. James H. Wiggins became its first full-time pastor. The church planted two more mission congregations in the area within two decades.
Why it matters
It illustrates how the railroad conjured East Texas towns from open country, with churches quickly following the tracks to anchor new communities.
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Related people
- · James H. Wiggins
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
O. H. Methvin, Sr., Founder of Longview
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O. H. Methvin (1815–1882) came to Texas from Georgia around 1848 and bought some 1,200 acres of East Texas, including a cornfield on this site. In 1870 he deeded 100 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the town that grew along the line was named Longview for the sweeping view surveyors admired from nearby Rock Hill. When Gregg County formed in 1873, Longview became its county seat, a city born from one landowner's gift to the railroad.
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