DUANE
Duane's take
The way I heard it, this here's the story as the official marker tells it — let me pass it along to you proper. Now, when you're talkin' about the First Presbyterian Church of McKinney, you're talkin' about the very first congregation in all of Collin County affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States — a denomination, mind you, that itself was established during the Civil War. So right from the start, this fellowship carries a little weight of history on its shoulders.
It was chartered with eighteen members. Not eighteen hundred. Eighteen.
A tight little circle of folks, gathered on September 27, 1874, at the home of Dr. E.N. McAuley — a prominent McKinney physician who apparently didn't mind his parlor being used to start a church.
The man who did the organizing was the Reverend W.K. Marshall, and when the dust settled, two men stepped up to serve as the first deacons: James P. Nenney and W.A.
Gossett. Remember those names — somebody ought to. Now, a congregation needs a home, and by 1876 they had one.
A small frame structure — steep roof, tall narrow windows — sitting right on the corner of Tennessee and Hunt Streets. And here's the detail that'll stick with you: that building had an ornate tower, and inside that tower hung a church bell cast especially for this fellowship. Z.P.
Ranney donated it. And that bell — that very bell — is still in use. Still ringing.
Let that settle for a second. But eighteen members has a way of becoming more, and more folks meant the little frame building couldn't hold them all. So for a stretch, the congregation held services in the county courthouse while they worked toward something bigger.
That something bigger came in 1899 — a full brick sanctuary on North Kentucky Street. Solid. Substantial.
The kind of building that says we're not going anywhere. And they weren't — that sanctuary served the congregation all the way until 1966, when a new edifice was completed at this very location during the pastorate of the Reverend Sam P. Riccobene.
But here's the thing about this congregation and its sense of continuity: they didn't just leave the old behind. The chapel at this location includes stained glass windows and interior furnishings brought over from that 1899 sanctuary. Eighteen members around a physician's parlor in 1874.
A bell still ringing. Windows that have seen generations come and go. Some things, it turns out, you carry forward.
What the marker says
This fellowship was the first congregation in Collin county affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States, a denomination established during the Civil War. Chartered with eighteen members, it was organized by the Rev. W.K. Marshall on September 27, 1874, at the home of Dr. E.N. McAuley, a prominent McKinney physician. James P. Nenney and W.A. Gossett served as the first deacons. The initial church building for the congregation was completed by 1876. A small frame structure with a steep roof and tall, narrow windows, it was located on the corner of Tennessee and Hunt Streets. An ornate tower housed the church bell, cast especially for the fellowship, which was donated by Z.P. Ranney and is still in use. Due to increased membership, services were held in the county courthouse prior to the completion of a larger church building on North Kentucky Street in 1899. Constructed of brick, the sanctuary served the congregation until 1966 when a new edifice was completed at this location during the pastorate of the Rev. Sam P. Riccobene. The chapel includes stained glass windows and interior furnishings from the 1899 sanctuary. (1980)