First Christian Church of Terrell

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Way back in 1876, a small group of believers gathered in Terrell, eighteen to twenty charter members, depending on who was countin' that day, and they said, we're building something here. They didn't have a building yet, mind you.

Not a single wall to call their own. So they borrowed quarters, the way folks did back then, and they made it work. For five years, the First Christian Church of Terrell existed on faith and borrowed space alone.

Then came 1881, and on this very site, they raised their first sanctuary. A real one. Theirs.

Now, you'd think that would be the end of the story; congregation gets a building, everybody's happy, roll credits. But here's the thing about a church that's doing something right: it grows. And grow they did.

By 1895, that original sanctuary had become inadequate. Not a little tight, inadequate. The membership had grown tenfold.

Ten times the souls that started this thing in 1876, all needing a place to sit. So they didn't patch it up. They didn't squeeze another pew in the corner.

They erected a new structure entirely, complete with stained glass windows catching whatever light Kaufman County had to offer, and a proper steeple pointing straight up at the sky where it belonged. They weren't done yet. In 1913, the church acquired land for the parsonage.

And then, a decade later, in 1923, they dedicated what stands today: the present brick sanctuary, along with its spacious educational facilities. Brick. After nearly fifty years of borrowed rooms and wooden walls, they built in brick.

And if the walls alone weren't enough, they installed a fine pipe organ (with echo and chimes) that, as the marker puts it, greatly enhances this edifice. Eighteen to twenty charter members, borrowin' space in 1876. A brick sanctuary with a pipe organ by 1923.

Some things, it turns out, just keep growin'.

What the marker says

Organized in 1876 with 18 to 20 charter members, this church met in borrowed quarters until its first sanctuary was built on this site in 1881. That building had become inadequate by 1895, as the membership had grown tenfold, so a new structure was erected, complete with stained glass windows and steeple. Land for the parsonage was acquired in 1913. In 1923 the present brick sanctuary was dedicated, along with its spacious educational facilities. The fine pipe organ with echo and chimes greatly enhances this edifice.