First Presbyterian Church of Terrell
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This congregation traces its history to two Presbyterian churches formed in the 1870s. A Cumberland Presbyterian Church, formerly located in the town of Lawrence, and the First Presbyterian Church in Terrell, also called the Old School Presbyterian Church, joined in 1904 to form a united congregation. A sanctuary was built at Rockwall and High streets in 1907-08 and was replaced in 1958 by a new structure at this site. Throughout its history, the First Presbyterian Church of Terrell has been an integral part of the life of the city.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This congregation grew from two Presbyterian churches formed in the 1870s: a Cumberland Presbyterian church that had stood in the town of Lawrence, and Terrell's Old School Presbyterian congregation. The two united in 1904 into a single body. It built a sanctuary at Rockwall and High streets in 1907-08 and replaced it with a new building on the present site in 1958.
Why it matters
The church's history mirrors the healing of the old Presbyterian denominational splits and the steady growth of religious community life in a North Texas railroad town.
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Themes & tags
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The Rev. J. W. Fields organized this Methodist congregation in 1873, the same year the Texas & Pacific Railroad opened a station that put Terrell on the map. As the town boomed, the church grew from a frame building to a brick sanctuary by 1900 and helped sustain Wesley College and the City Tabernacle, hubs of learning and public gatherings in the early 1900s. It hosted the North Texas Methodist Conference four times.
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