First Presbyterian Church of Longview - Longview, TX
N 32° 29.806 W 094° 44.386
15S E 336551 N 3596833
The First Presbyterian Church of Longview is at 301 N Center St, Longview, TX. Sunday services are at 10:30 AM.
Waymark Code: WM10G02
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2019
Views: 2
A 1994 Texas Historical Marker provides some background:
This church was established by nine resident members of the Old School Southern Presbyterian Church as a mission in the new town of Longview in 1872. The first church building was erected on land donated by the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1874. The Rev. James H. Wiggins was installed as the first full-time pastor. The congregation helped establish two mission churches in the area by 1894. A new church building was constructed in 1900 and a third at this site in 1940. The congregation continues to sponsor outreach and missionary programs in Longview and in other parts of the world.
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The church's website notes that there is an early link to the Alpine Presbyterian Church here in Longview. It mentions that the church sits on a parcel of land originally donated by Longview founding father, O.H. Methvin, and that the bell from the original 1874 sanctuary hangs in the current sanctuary's bell tower. In the 1930s, the church somehow managed to survive the rough and tumble nature of what comes with an oil boom, and their own growth prompted construction of this sanctuary in 1940. An educational wing was added in 1958, and some remodeling took place in the 1980s.