First Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church in Denison, Grayson County. Now, every congregation has to start somewhere. And this one started in a living room.

The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions commissioned Reverend Josiah Milligan to oversee Presbyterian outreach in Texas. Milligan chose to office in Denison, and that's where he began holding services, right there in his own living room. Not a grand sanctuary.

Not even a rented hall. A living room. But that's what the work required, and Milligan was the man for it.

On December 22, 1872, he organized the First Presbyterian Church in Denison. The charter members were Samuel and Sarah Hanna, Alex and Sarah Acheson, Rebecca Craighead, Eugene Sutta, Mrs. M.B.

Milligan, Mary Milligan, Martha Nevins, S.H. Ruthraff, and C.B. and Ella Berry. Twelve souls, if you're countin'.

Twelve people who put their names to something that intended to last. And they needed room to grow. The congregation petitioned the mayor to hold worship services in the town hall while they waited on something more permanent.

That something more permanent came when the Denison Town Company donated land for a church home. A simple, wood frame building was completed in January of 1874. Now, the building stood.

It served. Then, in 1900, the congregation enlarged it. And two years later, it burned in a fire.

Just like that. Gone. But a congregation that started in a living room and petitioned a mayor for a town hall is not the kind of congregation that quits.

They rebuilt. The new structure went up in 1904. Then, in 1951, a new educational building and chapel were added.

And in 1966, the 1904 building itself was razed to make way for a new sanctuary, the one that still stands and is still used today. But the buildings, as important as they are, aren't the whole story. The people are the story.

During the last winter of World War II, the ladies of the church met wartime troop trains at Denison's Katy depot. They brought sandwiches, cookies, coffee, and conversation. And here's the thing worth sitting with: military train movements were kept secret.

These women didn't always know who was coming or when. They showed up anyway, offering what they had to soldiers passing through in the dark and the cold of wartime. That detail, that word, conversation, it tells you everything about what this congregation understood its job to be.

Beyond the depot, many members of the First Presbyterian Church went on to serve in key leadership positions in state, local, and county government. The work of that original twelve spread outward in ways that touched the whole region. Today, the oldest church congregation in the city of Denison still carries on, still aiding its neighbors through service and outreach.

It began in Josiah Milligan's living room on a December day in 1872, and it has never really stopped moving since.

What the marker says

The Presbyterian Board of Home Missions commissioned Reverend Josiah Milligan to oversee Presbyterian outreach in Texas. Rev. Milligan chose to office in Denison and began holding services in his living room. On December 22, 1872, he organized the First Presbyterian Church in Denison. Charter members were Samuel and Sarah Hanna, Alex and Sarah Acheson, Rebecca Craighead, Eugene Sutta, Mrs. M.B. Milligan, Mary Milligan, Martha Nevins, S.H. Ruthraff, and C.B. and Ella Berry. Seeking a larger meeting space, the congregation petitioned the mayor to hold worship services in the town hall until land was donated by the Denison Town Company for a permanent church home. A simple, wood frame building was completed in January of 1874. In 1900, the structure was enlarged, but burned in a fire two years later. The structure was rebuilt in 1904, with a new educational building and chapel added in 1951. In 1966, the 1904 building was razed in order to build a new sanctuary that is still used today. The congregation often volunteered their time to help those in need. During the last winter of World War II, the ladies of the church met wartime troop trains at Denison's Katy depot with offers of sandwiches, cookies, coffee, and conversation, despite the secrecy of military train movements. In addition to volunteer efforts, many members of the First Presbyterian Church went on to serve in key leadership positions in state, local, and county government. Today, the oldest church congregation in the city of Denison continues to aid its neighbors through service and outreach. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011