Grace Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna pass it along just the same way. Now, Greenville, Texas has got itself a church story that reaches back further than most folks around here can personally remember. According to local oral tradition, this congregation got its start in 1863, organized as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by the Reverend John Nicholson.

Eighteen sixty-three. That is a long time to be gathering on a Sunday morning, and by that reckoning it stands as the oldest Presbyterian church in Greenville. The first church structure went up on Washington Street.

Simple enough beginning. But a congregation with roots that deep tends to keep growin, and by 1902 that original building had been picked up and relocated, moved to the corner of Wesley and Henry Streets. Moving a whole church building is not a small undertaking, and somebody in that congregation clearly had conviction and a willingness to work.

Then came 1908, and with it a new name. The congregation was renamed Grace Presbyterian Church. A new name, but the same unbroken line running all the way back to Reverend Nicholson and that founding year.

Forward they went. By 1966, the members needed more room than they had, and so they built a new sanctuary right here at this site. Larger facilities for a congregation that had never stopped showing up.

And they have not stopped since. This congregation actively sponsors area charity and relief programs and numerous missionary efforts, carrying on work that, by the marker's own account, stretches back to 1863. Some roots go deep enough that you stop being surprised when the tree is still standing.

What the marker says

According to local oral tradition this congregation was organized in 1863 as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by the Rev. John Nicholson, making it the oldest Presbyterian church in Greenville. The first church structure, built on Washington Street, was relocated to the corner of Wesley and Henry Streets in 1902. The congregation was renamed Grace Presbyterian Church in 1908. In need of larger facilities, the members built a new sanctuary at this site in 1966. This congregation actively sponsors area charity and relief programs and numerous missionary efforts. (1993)