DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Central Presbyterian Church in Lamar County. Now settle in, because this congregation's story stretches all the way back to the Republic of Texas itself — and that alone ought to tell you something about the kind of roots we're dealing with. On November 4, 1844, a circuit-riding minister by the name of Rev.
Samuel J. Corley rode into the picture and organized what would be called the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Circuit-riding ministers didn't exactly have the easiest life — they were out there covering territory, and Corley planted something that would outlast generations.
Three years later, in 1847, the congregation put up its first church building. A start. A real one.
Then under the leadership of Rev. C. J.
Bradley, the church built a new sanctuary in 1859 at a site near downtown Paris. Things were moving. But the chapter that would really define the place came with the pastorate of Dr.
Charles Manton, which ran from 1880 all the way to 1908. Under his watch, the congregation erected a new sanctuary in 1891, and the growth the church experienced during those years? Tremendous — that's the word the marker uses, and it earns it.
When Dr. Manton passed, the flags throughout the community were flown at half-mast the day of his funeral. Not for a politician, not for a general — for a pastor whose civic contributions ran so deep that Paris, Texas stopped and grieved him publicly.
That's a life that left a mark. In 1912, the congregation officially changed its name to Central Presbyterian Church. And then — 1916.
The devastating Paris fire came through and destroyed that 1891 sanctuary. All those years, gone. But here's the thing about a congregation with roots that old: they don't quit.
During the tenure of Rev. L. C.
Kirkes, they came back with something remarkable — a Gothic revival style sanctuary, completed in 1917. Designed by Thomas Broad of the firm of Curtis, Broad, and Lightfoot, it features extensive stained glass by the Ford Brothers Glass Company out of Minneapolis. You walk in and look up, and Minneapolis is looking back at you through colored light.
Educational facilities have been added over the years since, and the congregation has kept on — noted for its education and music programs, a leading civic institution still providing spiritual guidance to the community. From a circuit rider on horseback in 1844 to Gothic revival glass in 1917, that building on the marker is still standing. Some roots don't pull up easy.
What the marker says
This congregation, established during the Republic of Texas period, was organized as the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church on November 4, 1844, by the Rev. Samuel J. Corley, a circuit-riding minister. The first church building was erected in 1847. Under the leadership of the Rev. C. J. Bradley the church built a new sanctuary in 1859 at a site near downtown Paris. During the pastorate (1880-1908) of Dr. Charles Manton the congregation erected a new sanctuary (1891) and experienced tremendous growth. Flags throughout the community were flown at half-mast on the day of Dr. Manton's funeral in recognition of his many civic contributions. The congregation officially changed its name to Central Presbyterian Church in 1912. The 1891 sanctuary, destroyed in the devastating 1916 Paris fire, was replaced during the tenure of the Rev. L. C. Kirkes with this Gothic revival style sanctuary in 1917. Designed by Thomas Broad of the firm of Curtis, Broad, & Lightfoot, it features extensive stained glass by the Ford Brothers Glass Company in Minneapolis. Educational facilities have been added over the years. The congregation, noted for its education and music programs, is a leading civic institution that continues to provide spiritual guidance to the community. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1994 Incise on front: Estate of Francenia Hicks