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First Presbyterian Church 231 N. Burnett Denison, Texas "Denison First Presbyterian [Church] Marks [140th] Anniversary Herald Democrat December 16, 2012 pg. 1 Denison has had a reputation of being a rough and rowdy railroad town from its earliest days. But there also was another segment of the population whose thoughts were much more genteel. In fact, there was a church congregation before the first Katy train whistled into town on Christmas Eve in 1872. Rev. Josiah Milligan, who lived on Woodard Street, had invited members of all denominations to gather in his living room and on December 22, 1872, he organized the First Presbyterian Church, the first congregation established in Denison. Rev. Milligan was an evangelist who had been sent here by the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. On December 25, 1872, three days after the church was organized, a small steam engine, 2 passenger cars and one Pullman Palace car loaded with more than 100 passengers, chugged across the new Missouri-Kansas & Texas Railroad tracks over the Red River Bridge and pulled into Denison, blowing a victory whistle. While this is hailed as the first train, a work train to test the solid strength of the rails that had just been placed actually became the first train to arrive. When the church had grown so much that the living room couldn't hold everyone, they received permission to hold worship services in the Town Hall. Lots at the corner of Gandy street and Burnett avenue were donated to the Presbyterians by the Denison Town Company and a wood frame building was well on its way to being completed by January 1874. The Denison Town Company had offered to provide land to any congregation wanting to build a church. The Presbyterians were the first church to take advantage of the offer. Since then, two others, including the present church, have stood on the original site at Gandy and Burnett. By 1875 the presence of the congregation of early Presbyterians was known by the entire city because a church bell, weighing 450 pounds made sure it was heard. The bell was donated by Mrs. M.O. Banks, who visited here from New York City and thought the new church should have one. The doors to the church were left unlocked to allow easy access to the bell. Not to stand idle during the week, the bell was used as a fire alarm in addition to pistols that were fired to spread the alarm whenever there was a fire in town. But in 1902 the bell couldn't rally enough help to put out a fire in the church itself before the building that had been remodeled in 1900 was destroyed. Two years later a new facility was built and served the congregation until 1966. The second structure was semi-Gothic veneer with a tall belfry, a smaller tower and educational facilities. By 1932 Denison had its own fire warning system and an even larger bell weighing 1,400 pounds. It was donated to the church by the first local physician, Dr. Alex Acheson to replace the bell destroyed by the fire. The bell tolled services at the church for many years, then was removed because of structural problems in the belfry. That bell disappeared when the old church was razed to make room for the current sanctuary. The present church, valued at $300,000 at the time it was built, was dedicated in June 1967. In May 2011 the Mary Elizabeth Morrison Memorial Plaque, Bell Tower and commemorative walkway were dedicated on the grounds of the church, made possible through donations from members. Most of the work on the building, the Bell Tower and the base for the historical marker was done by Stan Keese and Stan Simmons. During the last winter of World War II troop trains routinely came through Denison. The women of the church met the trains and offered sandwiches, cookies, coffee and conversation to the young men either being transferred or heading to parts unknown. The station master at Muskogee, Oklahoma would call the church secretary here about 2 hours before a train was scheduled to arrive. The women, pushing carts of refreshments, would visit with the soldiers during the 30 minute stops. The train that arrived on Christmas Eve carried ski troopers, trained in Colorado and bound for the Italian Alps. Caroling sheets were distributed and, with the choir director leading from atop a baggage cart, 22 carloads of young men began to sing familiar carols that could be heard all over town, according to church history. What a wonderful sound that must have been. Then and now members of the congregation often volunteer their time to help those in need, according to the inscription on the historical marker that was dedicated on August 26 of this year. One such volunteer effort was in 1873 when the church planned a strawberry festival. There were no strawberries produced in the area at that time, but the organizers arranged to order the fruit from Galveston. Enthusiasm for the project grew with donations rolling in and eventually a $167 order was placed. The day arrived, but the strawberries did not. The strawberries had been sent to New Orleans on a hot summer day aboard a boat with no ice. The rotting fruit was transferred to a slow train, bound for Houston, where it sat on a hot platform waiting to be brought to Denison. The strawberry festival proceeded without any strawberries and that was the end of the strawberry festival. Today church members will observe the 140th anniversary of the founding of their church during worship service at 10:55 a.m. On Sunday evening a gathering of soup, songs, stories and Santa is planned in the Fellowship Hall. Members will tell stories of the church through the years about people who have made an impression on them and the events of the church. Incidentally, this year, 2012, also marks the 140th anniversary of the founding of our town. ----Donna Hunt  First Presbyterian Church History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |