First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport, down on Tres Palacios Bay. Now, Collegeport didn't just happen the way most Texas towns did. It was planned.

Deliberately, carefully, promotionally planned, by the Burton D. Hurd Land Company, as a scheme for selling the lands of J. E. and A.

B. Pierce. The company laid out a townsite, and they didn't stop there.

They provided land for something ambitious: the Gulf Coast University of Industrial Arts. A university. Out on Tres Palacios Bay in Matagorda County.

That right there tells you the kind of dreams people were carrying into this place. And where there are dreams, there are dreamers who want to gather together. So in November of 1909, community leaders made their way to the University's chapel to talk about something that, frankly, doesn't happen very often in the history of religion.

They wanted to build one church for everybody. Representing fourteen denominations, they came together and discussed the creation of the Collegeport Federated Church. The early mission was plain: unify the community, support a common church for all citizens.

Fourteen denominations. One congregation. You have to admire the nerve of that.

They called Murray A. Travis as their first pastor. Now, Pastor Travis had come to Collegeport in 1909, all the way from Canada, to join his brother William H.

Travis and help develop university programs as dean. So he was already wearing two hats when they handed him a third, because in addition to his university duties, Pastor Travis also ran the Collegeport Chronicle, one of the area's first newspapers. Pastor.

Dean. Newspaper editor. Collegeport was not a place for people who liked to sit still.

By 1910 the congregation was ready to build. They set to work on their first sanctuary, budgeted at an estimated cost of two thousand dollars. Five rooms.

And on November 27, 1910, they opened those doors for services. Among the charter members who signed the first register were persons of Baptist, Methodist, Union, Universal, and Presbyterian backgrounds. That register was something, a list of people who decided that what they held in common mattered more than what set them apart.

For many years, that building did more than hold Sunday services. It doubled as a schoolhouse and a community center. It was the kind of building a small town leans on.

Then came 1922. The congregation voted, and they voted unanimously, to join the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. From that point forward, they were the First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport.

The federated experiment had found its permanent home. They kept worshipping in that 1910 sanctuary all the way until 1955, when new facilities were finally built. And here's the detail that lands just right: they built those new facilities using materials and furnishings from the original church.

The old walls, in a manner of speaking, kept standing. A promotional land scheme, a university on the bay, fourteen denominations walking into one chapel, and a pastor who also ran the newspaper. Collegeport didn't do anything small.

What the marker says

The town of Collegeport, on Tres Palacios Bay in Matagorda County, was planned by the Burton D. Hurd Land Company as a promotional scheme for selling the lands of J. E. and A. B. Pierce. The company provided land for a townsite and the creation of the Gulf Coast University of Industrial Arts. In November of 1909 community leaders joined together at the University's chapel to discuss the creation of Collegeport Federated Church. Representing fourteen denominations, the congregation's early mission was to unify the community and support a common church for all citizens. Murray A. Travis was called as the first pastor of the church. Pastor Travis had moved to Collegeport in 1909 from Canada to join his brother William H. Travis, and help with the development of university programs as dean. In addition to his university duties, Pastor travis also ran the COLLEGEPORT CHRONICLE, one of the area's first newspapers. In 1910 the congregation began work on their first sanctuary building at an estimated cost of $2,000. The five-room building was opened for services on November 27, 1910. Among the charter members who signed the first register were persons of Baptist, Methodist, Union, Universal, and Presbyterian backgrounds. For many years the church doubled as a schoolhouse and community center. In 1922 the congregation unanimously passed a resolution to join the Presbyterian church, U.S.A., and became the First Presbyterian Church of Collegeport. The congregation continued to use the 1910 sanctuary until 1955 when new facilities were built using materials and furnishings from the original church. (1999)