First Presbyterian Church of Leonard

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it straight along to you. Way up in Fannin County, the story of the First Presbyterian Church of Leonard starts not in Leonard at all, but three miles to the north, at a place called Valley Creek. That's where, in 1875, a congregation was organized as a mission of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.

The man behind it was H. L. Parmele, the community's founder and leading merchant.

He wanted a church, and he made sure one got built. The Reverend DeCosta Howard Dodson, described as a noted Christian educator, stepped in as the first pastor. Things were going along just fine.

And then came 1883. A spring storm damaged the church building. Now, a lesser congregation might've taken that as a sign.

But this one took it as a direction. Around that same time, the Denison and Southeastern Railroad came through and created a brand new town called Leonard. The congregation packed up and moved to meet it.

They built the town's first church building, right there on the corner of Houston and Main streets. That's not a small thing. First church in a new town sets a certain tone.

Then, in 1905, something notable happened. The Leonard Presbyterian Church merged with the local Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a congregation that had itself been organized back in 1870, all the way over at Grove Hill, about three and a half miles to the northeast. After that union, the combined body took the name First Presbyterian Church, and the Reverend N.

M. Grafton became its new pastor. The church structure on this very site had been used for worship by the Cumberland Presbyterian congregation, and it continues in use today.

Over the years, additional facilities were built as membership grew. Pioneer settlers, prominent community leaders, people who shaped this corner of Texas. They all came through these doors.

A congregation that began in a storm-damaged building at Valley Creek and didn't stop. That's the kind of story a cornerstone holds.

What the marker says

This congregation was organized as a mission of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., in 1875 at Valley Creek (3 mi. N) through the efforts of H. L. Parmele, the community's founder and leading merchant. The Rev. DeCosta Howard Dodson, a noted Christian educator, became the first pastor. After a spring storm damaged the church building in 1883, the congregation moved to the new town of Leonard, created by the coming of the Denison and Southeastern Railroad. They built the town's first church building on the corner of Houston and Main streets. In 1905 Leonard Presbyterian Church merged with the local Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which had been organized at Grove Hill (3.5 mi. NE) in 1870. The Rev. N. M. Grafton became the new pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, as it was named after the union. The church structure on this site was used for worship by the Cumberland Presbyterian congregation and continues in use today. Additional facilities were built as membership increased. Members here have included pioneer settlers and prominent community leaders who made significant contributions to the area's development and heritage.