First Christian Church of El Paso

Edward McShane Waits, who built this church's Oregon Street sanctuary, took over Texas Christian University in hard shape. He was installed as president on November 14, 1916, at a school of 301 students with a $300,000 debt and no permanent library. TCU joined the Association of American Colleges in 1921 and the Southern Association and Southwest Athletic Conference in 1922, and its endowment reached $500,000. In 1923 Mary Couts Burnett gave a $3 million trust and later paid for the library completed in 1925. By 1927 the university had cleared all of its debts.

What the plaque says

First Christian Church of El Paso This congregation was organized by Philip Miner in 1885 with thirteen charter members. Miner (1825-1901), a native of Pennsylvania and a blacksmith by trade, came to El Paso in 1883 with his wife and five children. Since coming to Texas in 1849, he had been very involved in the establishment of churches and public schools, and he continued this activity in El Paso with the founding of this fellowship. Miner refused any pay for his preaching services. The Rev. Francis Brunner became the church's first salaried pastor in 1890. Early worship services were held in a variety of locations in south El Paso. In 1895, while vacationing in the city, the Rev. J. C. Mason led the congregation to build a sanctuary of its own at 107 Myrtle Avenue. On March 4, 1904, the cornerstone was laid for a new church building at Oregon and Franklin Streets. It was built during the ministry of the Rev. E. M. Waits, who later served as president of Texas Christian University from 1916 to 1941. On November 5, 1950, ground breaking ceremonies were held for a new church home at 901 Arizona Avenue. First Christian Church of El Paso has helped to establish other Disciples of Christ congregations as the city's population has grown. 1985

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Magoffin Home State Historic Site — 0.7 mi
  A U-shaped adobe of the 1870s in central El Paso that joins Mexican building to an Anglo plan, closed for restoration through 2027 while its visitor center stays open.
• Chamizal National Memorial — 1.9 mi
  A park on land the Rio Grande once put in dispute, where a century-old border quarrel between the United States and Mexico was settled by treaty and a new concrete channel.
• Ysleta Mission (Corpus Christi de la Ysleta del Sur) — 11 mi
  The Tigua mission church at Ysleta, rebuilt in 1908 around the walls, bell and Santo Entierro that came through fire, its interior painted with rain clouds and corn.
• Tigua Indian Cultural Center, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo — 12 mi
  The cultural center of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, the Tigua nation that has lived in the Mission Valley of El Paso since 1682 and keeps its own history here.

More markers nearby

• First Baptist Church of El Paso — steps away
• William Ward Turney and Iva Guthrie Turney — 0.3 mi
• Olga Kohlberg — 0.5 mi
• El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Building — 0.6 mi