First Christian Church - Palestine, TXPosted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 45.816 W 095° 37.829
15R E 250861 N 3517244
In 1846 a man from Kentucky who had embraced the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement, came to make his home in Palestine and set in motion steps which resulted in the establishment of the First Christian Church. That man was Mr. J.F. Taylor.
Waymark Code: WMW4MV
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2017
Views: 2
Church Website
Imbued with missionary zeal, Mr. Taylor wanted a church in his new home, so he invited all who would help to form one to meet in the schoolhouse. Following its organization, the congregation met in homes or in the courthouse. In 1851 the church trustees were empowered to purchase a lot and building materials. It was not until 1859 that the first church building was erected at the corner of Poplar and Fannin Streets in Old Town. The little church at this location housed the congregation for over a quarter of a century.
In 1884 a second building was erected at the corner of Houston and Crawford Streets. It was a wooden structure but it had a spire. This was adequate until 1905 when the brick building at 113 Crawford Street was constructed. The church had grown and could now afford to have an imposing building with a pipe organ; it was becoming a power in the city and among the churches of the Brotherhood over the state.
This building served until 1955 when the present sanctuary was completed directly to the east. Over the next several years the 1905 structure was transformed into an educational building which houses classrooms, administrative offices, a ladies parlor with connecting kitchen, a nursery, a library, a fellowship hall, church kitchen and a chapel.