First Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

The way this marker tells it, here's how the First Presbyterian Church of Hays County came to be. Back in 1848, Presbyterian settlers were gathering in a log courthouse, of all places, just to hear sermons. The man behind that pulpit was the Reverend Nathaniel P.

Charlot, who was also teaching the area's very first Sunday School. Picture that. A log courthouse, a preacher who doubled as a schoolteacher, and a congregation that hadn't even built a church yet.

That's where this story begins. It took a few more years, but in 1853, a circuit rider by the name of Humphrey W. Rogers rode into the picture, joined up with Mr.

Charlot, and together they organized the church proper. Then, in 1854, another circuit rider came down from Austin. Reverend J.

H. Zivley, born in 1824, became the first regular pastor this congregation ever had. A man who'd been riding circuits across the territory, and now he had a flock to call his own.

The church's first actual building went up in 1872, sitting at the corner of Austin Street, which folks today know as LBJ, and Colorado. That address carried the congregation for a good while, until a second building was occupied on September 16, 1897, this time at the present site. And then there's the present structure itself, built in 1952 and dedicated in October of 1953.

Now, that dedication date was no accident. October 1953 marked the one hundredth anniversary of that original organizing moment back when Rogers and Charlot put it all together. A century of Sundays, from a log courthouse to a dedicated sanctuary.

That's a story worth pullin' over for.

What the marker says

In 1848, Presbyterian settlers met in log courthouse to hear sermons by the rev. Nathaniel P. Charlot, teacher of area's first Sunday School. In 1853, circuit rider Humphrey W. Rogers and Mr. Charlot organized this church. The Rev. J. H. Zivley (1824-1905), also a circuit rider, from Austin, became first regular pastor in 1854. Original church building, at Austin (now LBJ) and Colorado, was erected 1872. Second, at present site, was occupied on Sept. 16, 1897. Present structure, built in 1952, was dedicated on the 100th anniversary, in October 1953.