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First Presbyterian Church 231 N. Burnett Denison, Texas  The church sanctuary and fellowship hall of the First Presbyterian Church was completed in 1966. It is the third building occupied by the Presbyterians in denison. The Denison Herald Wednesday, December 16, 1992 pg. 20 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CELEBRATING 120 YEARS There were far more outlaws and painted ladies in Denison than God-fearing citizens on December 23, 1872, when the First Presbyterian Church was founded. There were more cows roaming the streets wild than hymn books. But a lot of changes have taken place in the past 120 years. This year to mark the occasion, a special Christmas Cantata by Antonio Vivaldi will be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday by the 32-voice Chancel Choir of the First Presbyterian Church directed by Pablo F. Pedraza. A special chamber orchestra will back up the cantata with musicians drawn from Denison, Sherman, Denton and the Metroplex. The church's co-pastors, Dr. Jimmy and Rev. Katie Hopper, have planned a full day of celebration to mark the occasion. There will be special anniversary messages during the 11 a.m. service and the Vivaldi Cantata will be followed by a reception in the afternoon. The First Presbyterian Church is Denison's first church. It was organized in the home of Rev. Josiah Milligan, an evangelist sent to Denison by the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. The first church building construction was launched in 1873 shortly after the organizational meeting, The site for the church which still is the home of the Presbyterias, is at Burnett and Gandy. It was donated to the church by the Denison Town Company, which had agreed in its charter to provide land for any church group wishing to organize in Denison. A visitor to Denison a couple of years later, Mrs. M.O. Banks of New York City, was so impressed with the fledgling church that she donated a church bell which weighed 450 pounds. The bell quickly was put to other uses. The city adopted it as a fire alarm which was set aside from its regular tolling by the church, as guns were fired into the air when the bell was used to announce a fire. By 1902 the original church building had been enlarged. Ironically, the old church bell was put into use as a fire bell that same year when the church caught fire and burned to the ground.  The first brick church which was built in 1903 after the fire leveled the initial frame church building. The building was razed in 1966. Out of the ashes of that fire came the semi-Gothic brick veneer building, distinguished with a tall belfry and a smaller tower. It was one of the early religious landmarks in Denison, serving the church until 1966 when the present building was put up and the old building razed. Even earlier, in 1950, the educational building, which houses the fellowship hall was constructed on the southwest end of the church property. In 1932, Dr. Alec W. Acheson, a pionner Denison physian and a Presbyterian, donated a 1,400 pound bell to the church. It was mounted in the bellfry. By then, Denison had grown too large to us a bell to sound a fire alarm, so this new bell simply was tolled only to announce services. It worked with ropes, and various young members vied for the task of manning the ropes on Sundays and Wednesday. However, the weight of the bell proved too heavy for the bellfry, and it had to come down long before the church was razed. The church has had many pastors since it was founded. Dr. J.S. Hodges held the pastorate longer than any other minister, serving for 16 years. The Ladies' Missionary Society was launched in 1873, and it was later renamed the Lucy Little Aid Society, after an early-day missionary to South America, who was from Denison. In the 1920s the Women's Association was formed, and the church left the Austin Presbytery and became affiliated with the Trinity Presbytery. In 1979 the name Presbyterian Women, which still is in use, was adopted. This Sunday, the church's newest pastors and first ever co-pastors, will direct the birthday celebration. "We are 5 years awas from the 125th birthday, at which time we hope to get as many former pastors and members to return for a special celebration as possible.: Dr. Hopper said.  First Presbyterian Church History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |