First Presbyterian Church of Mabank

Duane's take

Now, I'm telling this one straight from the official marker: here's how Mabank's First Presbyterian Church came to be. It started small, the way most good things do. September 11, 1896, a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation organized itself in a little town called Lawndale, about two miles east of what would eventually become the Mabank townsite, though today it sits right within the city limits.

They didn't have a proper church building to their name. What they had was the Lawndale Schoolhouse, and on Sundays, that schoolhouse became their sanctuary. You work with what you've got.

Then came 1900, and with it, the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. When that rail line went through, a new town called Mabank rose up right alongside it, and the citizens of Lawndale (all of them, it seems) picked up and relocated to the new townsite. Now, the Baptists were quick off the mark.

They constructed the very first church building in Mabank, and that congregation of Presbyterians, being practical people, used it too, sharing the space until 1903. That's when, under the leadership of the Reverend Newton P. Patterson, they completed a frame sanctuary of their very own.

The following year, 1904, the congregation took on a new name: First Presbyterian Church, USA, of Mabank. They had a name, they had a building, they had roots. But then the 1930s arrived.

The depression settled over the land like a long cold shadow, and the church went through a period of inactivity. The congregation fell quiet. It can happen to any outfit, no matter how deep the roots run.

The 1940s, though; the 1940s brought reorganization. People found their way back. Then the 1960s brought something else entirely: the construction of a nearby lake.

That lake drew people in, revitalized the economy, grew the population, and the membership of First Presbyterian Church grew right along with it. By 1977, the congregation had grown enough to call its first full-time pastor. From a schoolhouse in Lawndale to a rail-born town to a lakeside community, that church just kept finding new reasons to keep going.

What the marker says

Organized on September 11, 1896, this church began as a small Cumberland Presbyterian congregation in the town of Lawndale (about 2 mi. E of the original Mabank townsite; now within its city limits). Worship services were held in the Lawndale Schoolhouse. In 1900, when the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was built through this area, the town of Mabank was created on the rail line. The citizens of Lawndale relocated to the new townsite. Baptists constructed the first church building in Mabank, which the Presbyterian congregation also used until 1903, when a frame sanctuary was completed under the leadership of the Rev. Newton P. Patterson. The name was changed to First Presbyterian Church, USA, of Mabank in 1904. During the depression of the 1930s the church experienced a period of inactivity. By the 1940s, however, the congregation was reorganized. The construction of a nearby lake in the 1960s brought economic revitalization and increased population to the area. The membership of First Presbyterian Church grew as a result, and the congregation called its first full-time pastor in 1977. It continues to serve the community with a variety of programs. (1990)