First Presbyterian Church of Port Lavaca
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Legend has it that the area's first Presbyterian church service was held in a local saloon in 1848. Eleven charter members soon began meeting with the Rev. A. Stephen F. Cocke in a warehouse also shared by the Methodist congregation and the school. A church building was erected on land purchased in 1849; the structure was destroyed in the 1886 storm. The group disbanded in 1903 and was reorganized with the Rev. M. W. Doggett in 1909. In 1956, dedication ceremonies were held for a modern facility in a new location. With a membership of 132 in 1997, the First Presbyterian Church of Port Lavaca continues to be active in worship and in community and missionary outreach. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Legend has it that Port Lavaca's first Presbyterian service was held in a saloon in 1848, before eleven charter members gathered with the Rev. A. Stephen F. Cocke in a shared warehouse that also served the Methodists and the school. The congregation built its first church in 1849, weathered the destruction of its building in the 1886 storm, disbanded, and reorganized in 1909, dedicating a modern home in 1956.
Why it matters
The congregation's improvised beginnings in a saloon and warehouse show how faith and civic life took shape amid the hardships of a frontier Gulf-coast port.
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Related people
- · A. Stephen F. Cocke
- · M. W. Doggett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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