First Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just the same. Way out in Lamar County, there's a church with a story that starts before the ink was dry on a whole lot of Texas history. The First Presbyterian Church.

Organized in 1861, by a man named Reverend John Anderson. Now, when a congregation is just getting its footing, you make do with what you've got. And what they had, in those early days, were the Odd Fellows Seminary and a downtown shop.

That's right. A shop. You worship where you can, and these folks did exactly that.

But they had bigger things in mind. By 1874, the congregation had built their first real sanctuary. A place to call their own.

That was just the beginning. Because in 1891, they built the church that stands today. And when they built it, they didn't cut corners.

They brought in architects L. B. Volk and Son to draw up the plans.

The contractor was W. R. Eubanks.

And what went up was something to stop you in your tracks. Romanesque style, built of Carthage stone, the kind of material that says we intend to be here a while. Now, if the stone alone doesn't get you, the windows will.

Those stained glass windows came all the way from Belgium. Belgium. Somebody made a decision and they made it with conviction.

Step inside and look up, and what you'll find is an auditorium laid out in a cruciform plan, and overhead, a wooden ribbed vault of beaded boards. The whole thing curves above you like the hull of a ship turned upside down, and the light coming through that Belgian glass finds every corner it can reach. Reverend John Anderson organized this congregation in 1861 with nothing more than purpose and a borrowed room.

What they left behind is stone, and glass, and a ceiling that has been holding its breath for well over a hundred years.

What the marker says

Organized 1861 by the Rev. John Anderson. Odd Fellows Seminary and a downtown shop were sites of early worship. Congregation built first sanctuary in 1874. Architects for this church (built 1891) were L. B. Volk and Son. Contractor: W. R. Eubanks. Romanesque style building is of Carthage stone; has stained glass windows from Belgium. The auditorium, cruciform in plan, has a wooden, ribbed vault of beaded boards. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968