HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Presbyterian Church

Hamilton, Hamilton County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Organized Sept. 5, 1880, by Rev. John A. McMurray, evangelist of Central Texas Presbytery. Its building of early 1880s was first frame church erected in Hamilton; used by other faiths on Sunday evenings for years. Charter members included W. T. Cropper, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Howard, Andrew Miller and D. L. Reynolds. Other early members were Robt. Miller and Mrs. Tom Brunk, Mrs. Jane Roddy and Mrs. Mary Taylor. The church was moved intact from original site at 119 South College Avenue; was incorporated in this new structure, 1947. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Organized in September 1880 by traveling evangelist John A. McMurray, this Presbyterian congregation built the first frame church in Hamilton, a young Central Texas town. Generous with its space, the church hosted other faiths on Sunday evenings for years. In 1947 the original 1880s building was moved intact from South College Avenue and incorporated into a new structure.

Why it matters

As Hamilton's first church building, it marks the beginnings of organized community and religious life on the Central Texas frontier.

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Related people

  • · John A. McMurray

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

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