Stanger Springs Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight out of Van Zandt County. On July 3, 1875, something took root out here that would outlast a whole lot of things that seemed more permanent at the time. The Stanger Springs Church was organized that day, born of the Bacon Presbytery in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and it came into the world with twenty-seven charter members and one Rev.

J. W. Vance leading the way.

Twenty-seven people. Not a crowd, but enough to build something on. And they did.

They built it out of pine and sweetgum boxing planks, which is the kind of detail that tells you everything about the era and nothing about how long that little congregation intended to stick around. The building stood on land owned by Eliza and John Stanger. Right across from that same site, also on Stanger land, stood a school, the Union Grove School, which folks around here knew as the Stanger school.

That school held its ground until 1929. Now here's where it gets interesting. Come 1889, the local Methodists started worshipping right alongside the Presbyterians.

Same building, shared resources, split right down the middle, equal and neighborly. And it wasn't a temporary arrangement. For over a century, families in this community claimed both Presbyterian and Methodist members without losing a wink of sleep over it.

That kind of easy coexistence is rarer than it sounds, and it lasted. In 1896, a man known as Ruf Stanger deeded the Stanger land to the church and school, making it official. Then in 1900, the Bacon Presbytery itself became part of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., so even the larger body was changin.

The twentieth century kept movin. In 1956, a new brick church was built, replacing whatever remained of those original sweetgum planks. And somewhere in that same decade, the 1950s, something began that would prove just as durable as the bricks: an annual homecoming, held every year on the second Sunday in September.

In 1992, two former members deeded an additional acre of land to the church. And then on June 1, 1995, the congregation made one more change, going non-denominational and renaming itself the Stanger Springs Community Church. Presbyterian, Methodist, community church.

The name changed more than once. The Stanger land passed from family to congregation. The school came and went.

The pine planks gave way to brick. But that second Sunday in September keeps coming around, and the Christmas Mission Fund keeps going, and the people keep gathering right here in Van Zandt County where twenty-seven folks showed up on a July afternoon in 1875 and decided this place was worth staying.

What the marker says

Organized in July 3, 1875, and born of the Bacon Presbytery in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Stanger Springs Church began with 27 charter members under the leadership of the Rev. J. W. Vance. The church building, originally made of pine and sweetgum boxing planks, stood on land owned by Eliza and John Stanger. Also on the Stanger land, directly across from this site, stood the Stanger school, known as the Union Grove School, until 1929. The turn of the century brought many changes. In 1889, local Methodists began worshipping here. The two denominations shared their resources equally. Many families claimed both Presbyterian and Methodist members for over a century. "Ruf" Stanger deeded the Stanger land to the church and school in 1896. The Bacon Presbytery became part of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. in 1900. In 1956, a new brick church was built. The 1950s also saw the origin of an annual homecoming on the second Sunday in September. An additional acre of land was deeded to the church by two former members in 1992. Non-denominational since June 1, 1995, the members of the renamed Stanger Springs Community Church continue such programs as a Christmas Mission Fund. (1997)