Shiro Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Shiro Presbyterian Church in Grimes County. October 1853. Eleven early settlers out in a community called Prairie Plains, about three miles east of where we're standing, gathered together and founded a congregation.

The place had another name, too: Red Top. And those eleven souls planted what would become the Prairie Plains congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. They called on Brother Weyman Adair to serve as their first pastor.

Now, that's where the story takes its first hard turn. Brother Adair became ill, and he died not long after taking up that charge. He was buried right there in the Red Top Cemetery, on the very ground his congregation would soon call its own.

A few years passed. Then, in 1857, a man named Jesse Bookman formally deeded five acres to the church. Five acres that included the cemetery, the manse, and the sanctuary.

The church building was the only one in the area, so it did double duty, serving local residents as a community center as well as a house of worship. That's a lot of weight for one building to carry, and it carried it. Then came a fracture, not in the walls, but in the wider church itself.

A national rift within the Presbyterian church rippled all the way out to Prairie Plains, and the congregation did not hold regular services between 1899 and 1906. Seven years of Sundays gone quiet. But 1906 brought a turning point on two fronts at once.

The Prairie Plains Church, like most Cumberland congregations across the country, became part of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. And at that same time, community residents began moving to a place called Shiro, where the Trinity and Brazos Valley Rail Line had been located. The future had tracks, and it ran through Shiro.

So on January 17, 1909, church members voted to move to this very site and to change their name. Prairie Plains was behind them. They were the Shiro Presbyterian Church now.

Decades rolled by. As area population declined through the middle of the twentieth century, church membership followed right along. The pulpit was filled by lay preachers and missionary preachers, whoever they could get.

For many years, services were held just once a month. Then came 1952, and the congregation sat down together and talked about whether to keep going at all. Disbanding was on the table.

But two men, T.J. Staton and Edwin Harman, stood up and told them to continue. That was enough.

With new energy, the congregation lobbied seminary students and others to come preach. Members organized church lunches. A Women's Circle took shape.

By 1970, they had added Sunday School classes. And in 2003, one hundred and fifty years after eleven settlers gathered out at Prairie Plains, the congregation celebrated their 150th anniversary. Eleven people showed up in 1853 to start something.

Turns out, two people in 1952 were enough to keep it going.

What the marker says

In October 1853, eleven early settlers of the Prairie Plains community (3 mi. E), also known as Red Top, founded the Prairie Plains congregation of the Cumberland Prebyterian Church. Brother Weyman Adair served as the congregation's first pastor, although he became ill and died shortly thereafter. He was buried in the Red Top Cemetery. A few years later, in 1857, Jesse Bookman formally deeded five acres to the church; the property included the cemetery, manse and sanctuary. The church building was the only one in the area and served local residents as a community center as well as a house of worship. Due in part to a national rift within the Presbyterian church, the congregation did not hold regular church services between 1899 and 1906. That year, the Prairie Plains Church, like most Cumberland congregations, became part of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.. At that same time, community residents began moving to Shiro, where the Trinity & Brazos Valley Rail Line had been located. On January 17, 1909, church members voted to move to this site and change the congregation's name to Shiro Presbyterian Church. As area population declined during the middle 20th century, so did church membership. The pulpit was often filled by lay and missionary preachers, and the church held services once a month for many years. In 1952, members discussed disbanding, but two men, T.J. Staton and Edwin Harman, encouraged them to continue. With new energy, the congregation lobbied seminary students and others to preach. Members organized church lunches and a Women's Circle. By 1970, they added Sunday School classes. In 2003, the congregation celebrated its 150th anniversary. (2004)