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By 1870, the Presbyterian Church in the United States sent the Rev. R.E. Sherrill to organize new congregations in northeast Texas. He led a group of Sherman residents in forming a church in 1871, and by late 1874 the members had constructed a sanctuary on Travis Street, between Pecan and Mulberry streets. Throughout the 1870s, the city of Sherman grew as a result of new rail lines through the community. The congregation, known as First Presbyterian Church, grew along with the city. By 1886, the church had established a chapel in a growing part of town, and in 1894 the congregation moved to a larger sanctuary at the corner of Travis and Mulberry.
After Austin College moved to Sherman in 1876, First Presbyterian fostered a strong relationship with its students and faculty, leading to the creation of a new congregation, the College Park Presbyterian Church, closer to campus. First Church and the school's pre-ministerial students also established a short-lived Sunday School mission in the 1940s. During the 20th century, First Church's members maintained other educational services, including kindergarten and pre-school programs, as well as foreign mission projects.
For more than a century, First Presbyterian Church grew and served its community, building new facilities as needed. The congregation developed close ties with the Trinity United Presbyterian congregation (Sherman), with which it united in 1995, forming Covenant Presbyterian Church. Today, Covenant Presbyterian continues the programs and services established by its historic congregations in their decades of work and worship in Sherman. (2005) |
