Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. Now, some churches just kind of appear on a landscape, but this one, this one has a story with a name behind it. Out in Gregg County, it all started modestly enough, after 1887, when Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church began sponsoring Sunday School classes in a place called the Spring Hill Schoolhouse.

Just a schoolhouse. Just some folks gathering. But you know how a small fire can catch.

In 1891, the Reverend W. M. Allen started riding out to preach there on Sunday afternoons.

Sunday afternoons, mind you, when the week's work was winding down and people had a moment to breathe and listen. Then came the Reverend J. M.

Robinson, who became the first resident pastor after the two churches went their separate ways. A congregation of their own now, they needed a name. And here is where this story gets personal.

They named it for Elmira Castleberry, matriarch of a prominent pioneer family. Think about that for a second. Not named for a deed, not named for a place on a map, named for a woman.

Her sons, James R. and Richard Castleberry, were right there as founding elders of the church. And James R. didn't just lend his name to the effort. In 1897 and 1898, he gave thirty-five acres of land and the material to put up a building that would serve as both school and church.

Thirty-five acres. That is not a gesture. That is a commitment.

The congregation that grew out of those quiet Sunday afternoon sermons never turned inward. Always active with other denominations, always reaching toward youth, community, and missionary outreach, Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church continues to serve the area to this day. Elmira Castleberry never preached a sermon, as far as the marker tells us, but her family built the walls, and her name is still on the door.

What the marker says

Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church began sponsoring Sunday School classes in the Spring Hill Schoolhouse after 1887. The Rev. W. M. Allen began to preach there on Sunday afternoons in 1891. The Rev. J. M. Robinson became the first resident pastor after the division of the two churches. The new congregation was named for Elmira Castleberry, matriarch of a prominent pioneer family. Her sons, James R. and Richard Castleberry, were founding elders of the church. James R. gave 35 acres of land and material for a school/church building in 1897-98. Always active with other denominations and in youth, community and missionary outreach programs, the church continues to serve the area. (1998)