Trinity United Presbyterian Church
Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Chartered on Oct. 12, 1851, as a Cumberland society, this was the first Presbyterian congregation in Sherman. The Rev. W. A. Provine was founder and first pastor. One of 4 denominations meeting in the Union church house, 1853-67, this fellowship also worshiped in the Methodist church before members constructed their own building in 1871 at S. Travis and Cherry Street. In 1896 they built an English Gothic edifice at the site. Renamed Central Presbyterian in 1921, this congregation became Trinity United Presbyterian before moving to this location in 1964. (1976)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1851 as a Cumberland society, this was the first Presbyterian congregation in the frontier town of Sherman, founded by the Rev. W. A. Provine. In its early decades it shared worship space in a union church house and the local Methodist church before building its own home in 1871. The congregation later raised an English Gothic edifice, changed its name more than once, and eventually became Trinity United Presbyterian.
Why it matters
As Sherman's first Presbyterian flock, the congregation illustrates how organized religion helped anchor and settle North Texas communities.
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Related people
- · W. A. Provine
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Sherman's first Methodist congregation grew from the labors of circuit-riding preachers who crossed this frontier even before Grayson County was formally organized, and it was established in 1859 with the Rev. J. M. Binkley. Its first members worshipped under a brush arbor on what became the public square before raising a frame church in 1860. Through fire, an opera-house exile, and a series of ever-larger sanctuaries, the congregation remained a hub of Methodist life in North Texas for well over a century.
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