First Christian Church of Palmer

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Christian Church of Palmer, out in Ellis County. Now settle in, because this story's got deep roots; deeper than the town of Palmer itself. Way back in 1853, a group of disciples gathered in the area around Rockett and Brushy Creek, about eight miles northwest of where we're standing.

They built themselves a church and gave it a name that sounds like it came straight out of a hymnal: Liberty-Sylvania. And that little congregation didn't stay small for long. Its members fanned out and helped plant new churches in Corinth, Ferris, Palmer, and Waxahachie.

One congregation, quietly, seeding a whole region. Now, two of those Liberty-Sylvania members were Robert Smith (folks called him Uncle Bob) and his wife Lavisa. In 1868, they packed up the family and moved to Palmer.

And right there, that same year, with their help, the First Christian Church of Palmer was organized. No grand building, no steeple, no stained glass. Their first meeting place was a one-room schoolhouse.

That's where it started. But here's the part of this story I want you to sit with for a moment. In 1880, the Baptists, the Christians, and the Cumberland Presbyterians of Palmer did something you don't see every day; they signed an agreement, all three of them, to build one church building together.

They called it the Palmer Union Church, and they put it up on Dallas Street, completed that same year. Then they worked out a schedule: each congregation got its own assigned Sunday every month. One sanctuary, three congregations, taking turns.

That is a particular kind of frontier practicality, and maybe something more than that. The First Christian Church eventually built their own sanctuary in 1898, at the corner of Dallas and Jefferson Streets. Then, in 1940, they moved again; to this very site; when the present brick building was completed.

But here's the detail that'll stick with you long after you drive away. That church bell still ringing here today? It came from the Palmer Union Church building.

The congregations went their separate ways. The shared sanctuary is long gone. But the bell they once rang together; it's still calling people in.

What the marker says

In 1853 disciples in the area around Rockett and Brushy Creek (8 miles northwest) established a church called "Liberty-Sylvania". Members of the congregation were instrumental in the formation of new churches in Corinth, Ferris, Palmer and Waxahachie. Two members of the church at Rockett, Robert "Uncle Bob" Smith and his wife Lavisa, moved their family to Palmer in 1868. With their help the First Christian Church of Palmer was organized that same year. A one-room schoolhouse served as the first meeting place. An agreement, signed in 1880 by representatives of the Baptist, Christian, and Cumberland Presbyterian churches of the town, called for the construction of a community church building. Completed later that year on Dallas Street, the Palmer Union Church sanctuary was used by all three congregations. Each church was assigned a specific Sunday of every month for their services. Members of the First Christian Church constructed their own sanctuary at the intersection of Dallas and Jefferson Streets in 1898. The congregation moved to this site in 1940 when the present brick edifice was completed. The church bell, still in use, is from the Palmer Union Church building.