First Presbyterian Church
Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. William Mumford Baker presided over this congregation's organization in 1854 at the Round Rock home of Richard and Mary Agnes (Cooper) Sansom. By 1856, the church was meeting in Georgetown, where C.A.D. Clamp deeded a site (at 4th and Myrtle streets) for a sanctuary and one of the town's first schools. In 1866, following the Civil War, the membership split into separate Northern and Southern congregations. The division continued into the 1890s, when the Northern church disbanded and sold the present building to the Southern congregation. Georgetown Presbyterians have met in this building since 1873. The Northern and Southern denominations reunited in 1983 as Presbyterian Church (USA). (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1854 at a Round Rock home, this Presbyterian congregation soon settled in Georgetown, where a donated lot held both its sanctuary and one of the town's first schools. The Civil War fractured the church as it did the nation: in 1866 the membership split into Northern and Southern congregations, a division that lingered until the Northern church disbanded and sold its building to the Southern one. Georgetown Presbyterians have worshipped in the present building since 1873, their denominations finally reunited in 1983.
Why it matters
The congregation's sectional split and long-delayed reunion make it a local mirror of how the Civil War divided even America's churches — and how slowly some of those wounds healed.
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Related people
- · Rev. William Mumford Baker
- · Richard Sansom
- · Mary Agnes Cooper Sansom
- · C.A.D. Clamp
Themes & tags
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