150th Anniversary Book

We updated and compiled this history of First Presbyterian Church early in 2004 to accompany the church’s yearlong celebration of its 150 years in Waco. The five of us—Carolyn Maxwell, Jim Maxwell, Joe Sudderth, Milly Walker and I—divided the research and writing into 30-year segments.

We express gratitude for two previous church histories, one written by Dr C. T. Caldwell and the other by that devoted Waco historian and church member, the late Roger N. Conger. Their work contributed to this effort, along with our interviews of living witnesses and research of church and public records.

We also owe thanks to longtime member Bill Barnes, who organized and led a group of volunteers to pore over a century and a half of church records, including Session minutes and worship bulletins. They compiled page after page of notes. In addition to benefiting our effort, the fruit of their labor will appear as historical vignettes in worship bulletins during the year of celebration.

Bob Lott, Church History Editor

Books cost $3 each, and are available in the church office.