First Presbyterian Church of Bay City

Fred S. Robbins gave the brick sanctuary, in a deed dated July 10, 1935, and it was dedicated on July 26, 1936. It replaced the white frame church of 1903, which the 1909 hurricane had turned to face Avenue H. Families gave the windows: The Good Shepherd and Praying Christ came from the children of Dr. and Mrs. J. E. Simons, and the rose window is a memorial to Mrs. P. E. Parker. Robbins Hall followed in 1938. City Hall now stands on the site of the first church.

What the plaque says

First Presbyterian Church of Bay City Within a year of becoming one of Bay City's original settlers in 1894, Alexander D. Hensley organized an interdenominational Sabbath school with the help of Gilford M. Magill. Early religious services were held in the county courthouse and in a community center. In 1898 Hensley, Magill, and others drafted and signed a Presbyterian Church covenant to formally organize this congregation. First Presbyterian was enrolled as a member of the Brazos Presbytery later that year. Hensley is also credited with the organization of the Mexican-American Presbyterian Church in Bay City. Actively interested in that congregation, he taught Sunday School classes in Spanish there for many years. Pastors assigned to First Presbyterian Church by the Brazos Presbytery held few services in Bay City, and in 1903 the relationship was dissolved. The congregation built its first church building nearby in 1903 with the Rev. George Wallace Story serving as pastor. The frame sanctuary served the congregation until 1936 when a new brick sanctuary was constructed at this site. Church facilities have expanded over the years to meet the demands of a growing congregation. First Presbyterian continues to provide religious guidance for members of the community. (1994)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site — 19 mi
  A sugar and cotton plantation on the San Bernard River whose enslaved builders and their descendants left one of the best-preserved African American archeological sites in Texas.
• Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site — 23 mi
  A Brazos sugar plantation built by enslaved people for the Patton family, later leased convict labor and Hogg family oil, now told through Rachel Patton and Sarah Ford.

More markers nearby

• Bay City Library — steps away
• Bay City Methodist Church — steps away
• Matagorda, C.S.A. — steps away
• First Baptist Church of Bay City — steps away