First Christian Church of Bonham

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Christian Church of Bonham. Now settle in, because this story starts across an ocean and winds its way to the red dirt of Fannin County. Charles Carlton was born in England in 1821.

He crossed the Atlantic, got his education in West Virginia under a man named Alexander Campbell, who was the founder of the Disciples of Christ movement, and somewhere along the way Carlton decided Texas was calling his name. He arrived in Bonham in 1867, and he didn't waste a single season. He organized Carlton College right there in town.

Then, on May 31, 1868, he gathered twenty-seven charter members together and stood up the First Christian Church of Bonham. Twenty-seven souls. Not a hundred, not fifty.

Twenty-seven. But you build something with the right foundation, and just watch what happens. The congregation kept its eyes open for a permanent home, and in 1877 they bought a lot from a man by the name of Colonel Jack R.

Russell. The very next year, 1878, they put up a frame building on that ground. Now, a frame building serves you well, but a congregation with roots that deep tends to dream a little bigger over time.

By 1912 they raised something altogether different: a classical revival structure, the one standing today. The Reverend Charles M. Schoonover was the minister who stood at its dedication.

Carlton himself lived until 1902, long enough to see what those twenty-seven charter members had set in motion. England, West Virginia, Bonham. Some journeys take the long way around to exactly the right place.

What the marker says

Congregation organized in 1868 by Charles Carlton (1821-1902). Born in England, he was educated in West Virginia under Alexander Campbell, founder of Disciples of Christ movement. Carlton moved to Bonham in 1867 and here organized Carlton College. First Christian Church was established on May 31, 1868, with 27 charter members. This lot was bought from Col. Jack R. Russell in 1877, and a frame building was erected in 1878. Present classical revival structure was built in 1912. The Rev. Charles M. Schoonover was minister at its dedication.