Trinity United Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Sherman, Texas has seen its share of firsts, and this one goes all the way back to October the twelfth, 1851. That's the day a Cumberland society was chartered, and just like that, Sherman had its first Presbyterian congregation.

The man who made it happen was the Reverend W. A. Provine, founder and first pastor.

You can almost picture him, sleeves rolled up, ready to build something that lasts. And last it did. For a good while, though, this fellowship had to share its Sundays.

Starting in 1853 and running clear to 1867, four denominations gathered under the same roof in what they called the Union church house. Four different flocks, one building. Before that arrangement, the congregation had even worshiped in the Methodist church.

Now that is the kind of neighborly spirit that doesn't get talked about enough. When the time finally came to have a place of their own, the members built their own building in 1871, right there at South Travis and Cherry Street. But they weren't done yet, not by a long shot.

In 1896, they went and built an English Gothic edifice at that very site. English Gothic, in Sherman, Texas. Some folks dream big and then they build bigger.

The congregation carried the name Central Presbyterian starting in 1921, and then became Trinity United Presbyterian before making one final move to this location in 1964. From a chartered society in 1851 to an English Gothic landmark to a new home more than a century later, this congregation just kept writing the next chapter. Some stories don't end.

They relocate.

What the marker says

Chartered on Oct. 12, 1851, as a Cumberland society, this was the first Presbyterian congregation in Sherman. The Rev. W. A. Provine was founder and first pastor. One of 4 denominations meeting in the Union church house, 1853-67, this fellowship also worshiped in the Methodist church before members constructed their own building in 1871 at S. Travis and Cherry Street. In 1896 they built an English Gothic edifice at the site. Renamed Central Presbyterian in 1921, this congregation became Trinity United Presbyterian before moving to this location in 1964. (1976)