First Presbyterian Church
Paris, Lamar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized 1861 by the Rev. John Anderson. Odd Fellows Seminary and a downtown shop were sites of early worship. Congregation built first sanctuary in 1874. Architects for this church (built 1891) were L. B. Volk and Son. Contractor: W. R. Eubanks. Romanesque style building is of Carthage stone; has stained glass windows from Belgium. The auditorium, cruciform in plan, has a wooden, ribbed vault of beaded boards. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1861 by the Rev. John Anderson, Paris's First Presbyterian congregation worshiped first in an Odd Fellows seminary and a downtown shop before building its first sanctuary in 1874. The present church, designed by architects L. B. Volk and Son and built in 1891, is a Romanesque building of Carthage stone with stained-glass windows imported from Belgium. Inside, a cruciform auditorium rises beneath a wooden ribbed vault of beaded boards.
Why it matters
The church's imported glass and ambitious Romanesque design reflect the confidence and rising prosperity of Gilded Age North Texas towns as they built enduring civic and religious landmarks.
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Related people
- · John Anderson
- · L. B. Volk
Themes & tags
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