First Presbyterian Church - Waurika, OK - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The National Register's Registration Form doesn't really provide much history of the church itself, although they note that they organized in 1905 and then vacated the sanctuary in the 1980s. Since then, the sanctuary has been used by the City of Waurika for office space, as well as for a chamber of commerce, but in 2016, it is vacant and in need of some repairs.

What earned the sanctuary a place on the National Register is its architecture. It is classified as a side-tower church, which was typical in Oklahoma in the early years of the 20th century, mostly Prairie School style with some Late Victorian Shingle influence. Unfortunately, few examples remain, and this drew attention to this building.

Construction began on July 4, 1908 when the local Masons placed the cornerstone, and then, things ground to a halt in a "tangle of money affairs." Things picked up again by November, with hopes that work would be completed in 1909, but by August of 1909, the church was still meeting elsewhere. By September, work was complete to the point that the Sunday school could meet in the unfinished building, and work probably was finished within the year. A local newspaper showed a photograph of the finished church in January 1910, but there was no fanfare about its completion.

There was a bell in front of Waurika's Chisholm Trail Museum, mounted on a base of logs, and this combination looks very much like past photos of the bell that once stood in front of the church. Unfortunately, that museum has closed, and there is no sign of the bell as of 2018.

Street address: 124 W Broadway Ave Waurika, OK USA 73573 County / Borough / Parish: Jefferson Year listed: 2002 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: 1900-1924 Current function: Vacant Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/18/2018 hamquilter visited it