Pearsall Presbyterian Church
Pearsall, Frio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized on March 31, 1884, in home of Mrs. Mary Dorsey. Elders: Dr. J. R. Boyd, James Ferries, James Thompson; Trustees: C. W. Gribble, R. J. Harkness, J. S. Powell, E. B. Rutledge, James Thompson. First pastor was the Rev. W. S. Wright. Church structure was dedicated on December 8, 1885. The oldest church building in continuous use in Pearsall, this has its original pulpit, communion table, pews. In 1970 church became ecumenical. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pearsall's Presbyterians organized in 1884 in the home of Mrs. Mary Dorsey, electing elders and trustees and calling the Rev. W. S. Wright as their first pastor. Their church, dedicated in 1885, is the oldest church building in continuous use in Pearsall and still holds its original pulpit, communion table, and pews. In 1970 the congregation became ecumenical.
Why it matters
A well-preserved frontier-era church, it shows how small South Texas towns anchored community life in the Gilded Age and carried those roots into the modern era.
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Related people
- · Mary Dorsey
- · W. S. Wright
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Frio County
Pearsall, TX
Long home to the Pachal Indians, this South Texas country was first crossed by Spanish explorer Alonso de León in 1690 as he searched for La Salle's ill-fated Fort St. Louis. By 1720 the route through the region had become part of a King's Highway linking Saltillo to East Texas—the same road along which Santa Anna marched toward the Alamo in 1836. Frio County, named for its "cold" river, was created in 1858 and organized in 1871, its seat later moving to Pearsall in 1883.
Old Frio County Jail
Pearsall, TX
Built in 1884 for $11,000, the old Frio County Jail is the oldest building in Pearsall, combining cells with a jailer's residence in a style typical of its era. A second story and added cells housed different classes of prisoners, and a well on the grounds supplied its water. It served the county until 1967 and even doubled as a storehouse for confiscated bootleg liquor during Prohibition.
Frio Lodge No. 399, A.F. & A.M.
Pearsall, TX
Chartered in 1874 after organizing the year before in Frio City, this Masonic lodge carried the rituals of frontier fraternalism into raw ranch country. Its first Worshipful Master, John B. McMahon, had already led the Grand Lodge of Texas, lending the small lodge unusual stature. When the railroad created the new town of Pearsall in 1883, the lodge moved with the commerce, and it endures as the oldest continuing organization in Frio County.
Frio County
Pearsall, TX
Though Spanish explorers passed through this brushy South Texas country as early as 1690, Frio County was not organized until after the Civil War. The county seat shifted from Frio City to Pearsall when the International & Great Northern Railroad arrived in 1883, and in 1876 a Texas Ranger camp under Major John B. Jones guarded settlers against raids. The legendary frontiersman "Big Foot" Wallace spent his last years here.