First Presbyterian Church of Maysfield

Before it was Maysfield it was Old Graball, a name the Handbook of Texas records without explaining. The change honored Thomas Newton Mayes, who came to the area in 1853, and the post office carrying his name opened in 1868. The settlement sat on the stage line between Calvert and Cameron. By 1884 it had a steam gristmill and cotton gin, a good school and 250 residents. A decade later only 150 were reported, and the county highway map of the 1980s showed little more than the church.

What the plaque says

First Presbyterian Church of Maysfield Organized in August 1873 by the Rev. Levi Tenney (1823-1907), with nine members. One of two original ruling elders was early settler T. N. Mayes (1812-1891), donor of townsite of Maysfield, which was named for him. The congregation erected this building, its first, in 1883; it was dedicated in 1884 by Dr. S. A. King of Waco. The first resident pastor (1886) was the Rev. J. K. P. Newton (1843-1898). This church has furnished three ministers to Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas Presbyteries: The Rev. Henry M. Bailey, Dr. C. Edgar Newton, and the Rev. James W. Newton. (1976)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 8.1 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.
• Calvert — 12 mi
  A railroad cotton town of 1868 on State Highway 6 that claimed the largest cotton gin in the world and elected Black men to county and state office during Reconstruction.

More markers nearby

• Maysfield United Methodist Church — steps away
• John Hobson — 3.6 mi
• Little River Baptist Church and Cemetery — 3.9 mi
• Steamboat Washington Landed Here — 7.1 mi