First Presbyterian Church of Richardson

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church of Richardson. Now settle in, because this story starts the way the best ones do: with a man of conviction, a handful of believers, and a piece of Texas ground that didn't know yet what it was about to become. On August 21, 1870, the Rev.

George L. Blewett, born in 1821 and gone by 1884, gathered twenty charter members and organized what they called the Trinity Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Twenty people.

That's it. That's your whole congregation, right there at the beginning. And where did they worship in those early days?

In a house. Specifically, the home of George Henry Blewett, son of the congregation's own founder. Now that right there is a family affair if I ever heard one.

George Henry didn't stop at opening his front door, either. He donated the land for the congregation's first sanctuary, a one-room frame structure. One room.

From that one room, something remarkable was going to grow. By 1880, they had a Sunday School up and running, and that program has never stopped. It grew to serve church members of all ages, and it's still going.

Then comes 1909, and the congregation takes on a new name: the Richardson Presbyterian Church. The very next year, 1910, they relocated to a new sanctuary at Polk Street and Greenville Avenue. The congregation kept growing, additions kept getting made, and in 1954 this site was acquired for a new church complex altogether.

A sanctuary was completed in 1957, and then, because the people just kept coming, that sanctuary was replaced by a larger facility in 1988. Since 1983, the congregation has gone by the name First Presbyterian Church of Richardson. And through all of it, through every name change and every new building, through every decade that rolled across Dallas County, this church has been out in the community: blood drives, medical clinics, food and clothing pantries for the needy.

From twenty charter members in a borrowed living room to a congregation that keeps building and keeps giving. The one-room frame church and the whole wide community it grew into, all of it rooted in that August day in 1870.

What the marker says

Organized on August 21, 1870, by the Rev. George L. Blewett (1821 - 1884) and twenty charter members, this church began as the Trinity Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Early worship services were held in the home of George Henry Blewett (son of the congregation's founder), who also donated land for the congregation's first sanctuary, a one-room frame structure. The church became known as the Richardson Presbyterian Church in 1909, and in 1910 relocated to a new sanctuary at Polk Street and Greenville Avenue. Additions were made to the building as the congregation grew, and in 1954 this site was acquired for a new church complex. A sanctuary completed in 1957 was replaced by a larger facility in 1988. Since 1983 the congregation has been known as First Presbyterian Church of Richardson. Throughout its history this church has served the community with a variety of religious, educational, and outreach programs. A Sunday School program begun in 1880 has grown to serve church members of all ages. Outreach efforts include involvement in community projects such as blood drives, medical clinics, and food and clothing pantries for the needy.