First Presbyterian Church
Smithville
Bastrop County, Texas
30 00.437' N 97 09.394' W
Directions: Start at the intersection of Burleson Street and NE 3rd Street in Smithville. The church is on the northwest corner of the intersection.
Text: The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, chartered September 24, 1871, by seven aspiring members and James M. Renick, a traveling Cumberland Preacher, met at Pea Ridge in homes or outdoors under brush arbors. After 1875, the church met in the newly chartered J. Nixon Masonic Lodge No. 421. As Smithville evolved, the church relocated there in 1889. They first met in the new Nixon Masonic Lodge, then moved to shared facilities in the new Methodist church building where the Baptists also met. In 1895, the church purchased this location at Third and Burleson Streets and erected a wooden structure to serve as the home for the church. In1906, the church united with the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. and became the United First Presbyterian Church U.S.A. of Smithville. By 1923, the congregation had outgrown the old structure; and following a 1924 cornerstone leveling by the Nixon Masonic Lodge, the existing two story brick church building was dedicated on February 15, 1925. Information provided by David L. Herrington and the First Presbyterian Church.