Erath County Churches

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH---STEPHENVILLE

The first Presbyterian church was organized as a “Cumberland Presbyterian” Church in 1860 by the Rev. J. A Phillips and Rev. . Rev. Phillips was working as a teacher and soon left for Bell County where he served several churches.

In 1898 the Presbyterian Church was formed. Both the Cumberland Church and the new Presbyterian church each had a building and met separately for a while. In 1906, they united to become First Presbyterian Church of Stephenville. They met in a building which is still used as” The Chapel on the Bosque” on the Historical Museum grounds. In 1960.land was donated for a new building at the present Harbin Dr. spot and the old building was sold to the Baptist Church. They used it until 1976 when they decided to get rid of it. Stephenville citizens who were interested in preserving the history of the town bought it and placed the building on the Museum grounds where it is used for various functions throughout the year.

The new structure at 1302 Harbin was enlarged in1993 with an expansion of the kitchen and fellowship hall plus 4 new classrooms. Plans now include another expansion on adjacent property purchased in 2006. The present building is used for many activities by members of the church and of the community.

The church members are looking forward to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church with a number of events in 2010.

Written by Charlene Moser, Chairman of the Anniversary Committee

Submitted by Eloise Horak.

Return to Church Index

Return to Home Page

This page was last updated on -01/01/2013