First Presbyterian Church - Navasota, TX - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

The original church was razed and the materials were incorporated into this structure. Jesse Youens (architect), Will Youens (carpenter), Ernest Lord (carpenter) and Alexander McFarland (rock worker) were appointed to draw the church plans.

Jesse Youens ordered plans from an architect firm in Chicago. The Victorian Revival of High Perpendicular was chosen, which was the last Gothic style produced. This is a functional Gothic: the steep roof transfers weight to the tapered walls (1.5 feet thick at the eaves; 4 feet thick at the foundation) and the buttresses transfer the horizontal thrust to the ground. The roof beams in the sanctuary are of a different style derived from Anglian timbered barns of the middle ages. The crossed and bolted beams are called a “scissors truss”.

A pipe organ was installed in 1913 by Henry Pilcher's Sons (Opus 782.6) and was later replaced with a larger instrument built by the Hall Organ Company in 1942. In 1963 a modern educational facility was constructed to replace the older one, which was no longer adequate to accommodate the church school. In 1989 the church acquired the building and property on the north side of the church, providing a new family center and additional Sunday school classrooms.

On the night of February 7, 2002, a disastrous fire engulfed the historic sanctuary, weakening its structural hand-hewn Gothic arches, and its contents were partially destroyed or further damaged by water. The pipe organ, Victorian stained glass windows, original pews and pulpit survived; and by the grace of God, a massive historic restoration effort returned the church to His service. Our congregation and the community celebrated a service of thanksgiving and rededication in the restored sanctuary on Palm Sunday, 2003.