DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church of Ferris, out in Ellis County. Now settle in, because this story starts long before that building ever cast a shadow on the town. Thirteen charter members, count 'em, thirteen, came together in 1858 and organized a congregation.
Thirteen people with enough conviction to plant a church in the Texas soil. And they didn't plant it in Ferris, not yet. They set roots near Bluff Springs, about two miles to the west of where that church stands today.
That's where the story begins: quiet, out on the prairie, two miles from anywhere most folks would think to look. For seventeen years, that congregation held on out there near Bluff Springs. Then, in 1875, they made the move.
Pulled up and came to Ferris. A new place, a new chapter. And by 1890, they had themselves a proper church building right there on that ground.
Now, you might think that 1890 building would be the one standing today; but you'd be wrong. That building was razed. Taken down to make way for something grander.
Because in 1925 and 1926, they built the sanctuary you can see right now. Classical Revival design: paired pilasters, a three-bay primary facade, a rounded arched entry, classical columns, and two-story stained glass windows reaching up like the congregation's ambitions always had. From thirteen souls near Bluff Springs in 1858 to that sanctuary in Ferris, that's not just a building.
That's a community still showing up.
What the marker says
Organized by 13 charter members in 1858, this congregation moved from its original site near Bluff Springs (2 miles west) to Ferris in 1875. A church building, erected here in 1890, was razed when this sanctuary was built in 1925-26. Its Classical Revival design features paired pilasters, a 3-bay primary facade with a rounded arched entry, classical columns, and 2-story stained glass windows. The congregation and sanctuary continue their integral role in the community.