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A Brief History of First Presbyterian of Waco

In May of 1855, the Reverends Thomas Alexander, John M. McChord and Samuel C. Taylor organized the First Presbyterian Church of McLennan County, Texas, with seventeen charter members and two Ruling Elders. The small congregation initially worshiped in the Union church building on South Second Street in Waco. Beginning in 1863, the congregation met in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, structure until it was destroyed by fire. The chapel of the Waco Female College was the next place of worship for the congregation until the first Presbyterian edifice, located at the corner of Jackson and Second Streets, was built in 1870. The congregation received a church bell from A. A. Casseday in 1877, which is still in use today.


The Reverend Dr. Samuel Alexander King was called and installed as the first full-time minister in 1882. His sermons attracted so many new communicants (members) that the congregation soon outgrew the present building, and the location became inconvenient to a large number of congregants. A larger church edifice, located at 812 Austin Avenue, was built between 1883-1884. The church was later incorporated with the name The First Presbyterian Church of Waco, in 1892.


The Reverend Dr. Charles T. Caldwell was called and installed as the church’s minister in 1903. The cornerstone for the present church edifice at 1100 Austin Avenue was laid on September 25, 1911. The original English Gothic-style church building was designed by Frederick M. Mann, a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois. The Waco architectural firm of Scott, Pearson and Dean supervised its construction. The memorial windows in the church were created by stained-glass studios in the United States and England.


The church has been awarded a Texas Historical Marker from the Texas Historical Commission and designated a Waco Historic Landmark by the City of Waco.

Photograph by Fred Gildersleeve
Second and Jackson Streets
Courtesy of the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum
Click here for Historical Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church, Waco, McLennan County, Texas, by C. T. Caldwell.
Courtesy of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Fort Wayne, IN.

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