First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville. Now settle in, because this is a story about something that started small — real small — and just kept growing. June of 1848.

The Presbytery of the Brazos organizes a brand-new congregation in Huntsville, Texas. You want to know how small the beginning was? One elder.

Ten members. That's it. Eleven souls total, launching what would become one of the enduring institutions of Walker County.

Now, when you've got eleven people and no building to call your own, you make do. And these folks made do in style — worshipping wherever the doors were open. The county courthouse.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The chapel of Austin College. They were carrying their faith from room to room across Huntsville, and somehow that didn't slow them down one bit.

Then came 1855 — a turning point. The congregation purchased property at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Avenue K, and that very same year, under the leadership of The Reverend Daniel Baker, they erected their first sanctuary. Their own walls.

Their own roof. After years of borrowing pews from other folks, that had to feel like something. That first sanctuary served the congregation faithfully all the way until 1898 and 1899, when the growing church built something larger to hold all those new faces.

And growing is exactly what this congregation kept on doing — right alongside Huntsville itself. The marker makes a point of saying the growth of this church has paralleled the growth and development of the city, and it notes that many of Huntsville's civic leaders have been active in the congregation over the years. The church has also reached out to area college students, year after year, decade after decade.

By 1955, the congregation was ready to plant roots in a new location altogether — land at this very site was purchased that year, and a sanctuary was completed the following year, in 1956. They weren't done. An educational wing was added soon after to handle the needs of a Sunday School that just kept filling up.

And then, in 1974 and 1975, a new sanctuary went up again. From eleven people borrowing a courtroom to a congregation building its third sanctuary — that's not a small story. That's Huntsville's story, told in steeples.

And through all of it, the First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville has kept an active outreach program running in its community. One elder, ten members, and a whole lot of generations later — still at it.

What the marker says

Organized by the Presbytery of the Brazos in June 1848, the First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville began with one elder and ten members. Early worship services were held in the county courthouse, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the chapel of Austin College. Property at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Avenue K was purchased in 1855, and the congregation's first sanctuary was erected that year under the leadership of The Rev. Daniel Baker. It continued to serve the congregation until a larger structure was built in 1898-1899. The growth of this church has paralleled the growth and development of Huntsville. Many of the city's civic leaders have been active in the congregation, which has also ministered to area college students through the years. Land at this site was purchased in 1955, and a sanctuary was completed the following year. An educational wing was soon added to fill the needs of the growing Sunday School, and a new sanctuary was built in 1974-75. Throughout its history, the First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville has maintained an active outreach program to its community.