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Mantua Christian Church Mantua, Texas  There were other settlers living
in the area and on Sundays
some of them would get together for church, usually meeting in a home
and
usually it was the home of Collin McKinney's brother, Uncle Carroll
McKinney.
Dr. Asbury Cartwright moved into the area in 1847 and along with another settler, J. B. Wilmeth, provided the preaching at these Sunday gatherings. As more settlers moved into the area, attendance at the Sunday services increased. In 1850, the settlers joined together and built themselves a church home. It was named Liberty Church. Research done by Dr. Lloyd Mottley, a former pastor in Van Alstyne, showed the church membership numbered 69. William C. McKinney, Dr. Cartwright, and G. W. Vernon were elders in that early church and Collin McKinney and Solomon DeSpain were deacons. Within four
years, the congregation had grown too numerous
for the small Liberty Church and so another church was built, in the
newly
organized town named Mantua. It
was
named the Mantua Christian Church.
It
was the first Christian church in Texas.
In 1888, the Christian Church moved to Van Alstyne.  Mantua Christian Church History Susan Hawkins © 2024 Grayson CountyTXGenWeb |