First Christian Church of Grapeland

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Christian Church of Grapeland, over in Houston County. Now settle in, because this one starts before the town it calls home even existed. Way back around 1870, a congregation got itself organized, not in Grapeland, mind you, because Grapeland wasn't there yet.

They gathered in a community called Red House, sitting about three miles to the east. And Red House itself had some age on the land, because that same ground had once been home to an Indian village, long before any of this. So you're already looking at layers of history stacked one on top of another before the first hymn was ever sung.

The congregation held together out there in Red House, finding their faith and their fellowship in a community that, at that moment, was about as far from a railroad stop as you could get. Then came 1872, and with it came the railroad, and with the railroad came Grapeland. A whole new town, planted right there in Houston County.

And when a town springs up, people tend to follow it, including this congregation. They moved themselves into Grapeland, though they didn't have a building waiting on them. So they did what practical people do: they borrowed space.

For a time, they held their services in the schoolhouse. Now that's a congregation with a sense of purpose. They weren't going to let a little thing like not having walls of their own slow them down.

The real milestone came in 1895, when the present sanctuary was built. That building went up, the congregation walked in, and here is the part worth sitting with: they never stopped. Continuous use, from 1895 right on through.

The years kept coming, and the church kept opening its doors. Then in 1947, the original structure got some company. A kitchen, a dining room, and an educational unit were added, giving the congregation room to gather around a table, not just a pew.

From an Indian village, to Red House, to a schoolhouse borrowed on Sunday mornings, to a sanctuary that has stood without interruption since 1895. That's a long road, and every mile of it is still standing.

What the marker says

Congregation organized about 1870 in community of Red House (3 mi. east), where Indian village had once stood. When Grapeland was founded with coming of railroad in 1872, church moved to town; at first held services in schoolhouse. Present sanctuary was built in 1895 and has been in continuous use since then. In 1947 kitchen facilities, a dining room, and an educational unit were added to the original structure.