First Presbyterian Church of McAllen

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church of McAllen, right there in Hidalgo County. Now settle in, because this story starts in a lumberyard. Not a chapel, not a tent, not even a cleared field.

A lumberyard. That's where the Rev. M.W.

Doggett held McAllen's very first Presbyterian worship service, in 1908, surrounded by planks and sawdust and whatever light came through the gaps. You have to admire the determination. The congregation didn't have walls yet, but they had a preacher, and apparently that was enough to get things started.

Dr. W.A. King and George Pollack stepped up as the first elders, and the church began to take shape as something real.

By 1910, they had built an actual sanctuary, right on that spot, and it became a prominent landmark in McAllen's early history. Not bad for a congregation that had been worshipping among lumber two years before. But here's where the story earns its weight.

The Mexican Revolution, raging from 1909 to 1919, pressed down hard on this part of Texas, and the church felt it. Adversely affected, the marker says, and you can imagine what that means for a small congregation trying to hold together along the border during a decade of upheaval. What kept it going?

The Women's Society, formed in 1909, just one year after that first lumberyard service. They sustained the church through all of it. The building kept growing too, decade by decade.

A fellowship hall came in 1949. An education building followed in 1953. And then a new sanctuary rose in 1959 and 1960.

From a lumberyard to a landmark, from a handful of faithful people to a congregation still serving the community with a variety of programs. That Women's Society showed up in year one and kept the whole thing alive. Turns out the most enduring foundation wasn't lumber after all.

What the marker says

This church began with McAllen's first Presbyterian worship service, held by the Rev. M.W. Doggett in a local lumberyard in 1908. Dr. W. A. King and George Pollack were first elders. Although adversely affected by the Mexican Revolution (1909-1919) the church was sustained by its Women's Society, formed in 1909. The first sanctuary, built here in 1910, was a prominent landmark in McAllen's early history. A fellowship hall was added in 1949, an education building in 1953, and a new sanctuary in 1959-60. This congregation continues to serve the community with a variety of programs. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995