First Presbyterian Church of Quanah

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the First Presbyterian Church of Quanah. Now, most great things in Texas start somewhere humble, and this one is no different. The year was 1892, and a congregation was organized not in some grand hall, not under a painted ceiling, but at the home of Mrs.

A. E. deGraffenried. The Rev.

Jacobs was there, and eight charter members gathered around to make it official. Eight people and a vision. That's how you start a church that lasts.

For years that congregation carried on, and then came 1909. That's when they decided it was time to build something the whole town could reckon with. They brought in R.

Henry Stuckley, a contractor out of Chillicothe, and what he put up was something worth talkin about. The style is beaux arts classical, which is a fancy way of sayin the building means business. Stucco over frame construction, an inset entry standing beneath large columns, arched stained glass windows catchin the light just so.

And then, right at the top, an elaborate stained glass dome. Think about that. Out here on the rolling plains of Hardeman County, a stained glass dome lookin down on the congregation below.

The marker calls this structure a symbol of the church's continuing service to the community. And standin outside lookin up at those columns and that dome, you'd have a hard time arguing otherwise. Some things, friend, are built to endure.

What the marker says

This congregation was organized in 1892 at the home of Mrs. A. E. deGraffenried by the Rev. Jacobs and eight charter members. This beaux arts classical style church building, erected by Chillicothe contractor, R. Henry Stuckley in 1909, features stucco over frame construction, an inset entry under large columns, arched stained glass windows, and an elaborate stained glass dome. This structure is a symbol of the church's continuing service to the community. Recorded Texas Historical Landmark-1995