The official beginning of First Christian Church of Granbury was in the fall of 1873 when Joseph Addison Clark and his two sons, Addison and Randolph, established the AddRan Male and Female College in Thorp Spring 3.8 miles northwest of Granbury, near Thorp Spring.
AddRan College (as it became known) was one of the more successful institutes of higher learning in the state, with a peak enrollment of 445 students in 1893. In 1889 financial troubles led the Clarks to surrender ownership of the college to the Texas Convention of the Christian Church. The history of First Christian Church of Granbury is closely tied to this history of AddRan College, which would eventually evolve into Texas Christian University.
In 1873 when Randolph Clark came from Fort Worth to help establish AddRan College, he reported finding a small group of “Campbellites” meeting in the courthouse with the livery stable owner, J.H. Harbison, preaching on Sundays. In 1889 a frame building was constructed at the southeast corner of Houston and Bluff Streets by members of the congregation. The deed to the building was filed in Hood County on April 22, 1889.
The congregation worshiped in this building for the next 97 years. The original frame building has since been moved to the corner of Bridge and Brazos Streets, where it is now a concert hall of Tarleton State University, Dora Lee Langdon Cultural and Education Center.
AddRan College moved to Waco in 1895 and changed its name to Texas Christian University in 1902. A disastrous fire at the school in 1910 prompted the school to accept an offer from the city of Fort Worth to move the university to its present location.
On Easter Sunday in 1986 the members of First Christian Church worshiped in the newly constructed limestone building at 2109 West Highway 377. In 1998 the congregation dedicated the $1.3 million addition including a fellowship hall/gymnasium, an enlarged sanctuary, a classroom wing, a new and enlarged nursery, a lobby with an atrium and a foyer.
In June 2006 we celebrated the completion of the most recent addition to our facilities. The new building includes offices, bathrooms with showers, two large classrooms for youth, additional classrooms for adults, and a library area. The earlier education wing is devoted to our children.
The congregation in less than two generations has gone from a worshiping membership that would barely fill two pews to one with a membership of approximately 380 persons and with worship attendance averaging over 240 each Sunday.
Created on 05/12/2005 02:40 PM by treeder
Updated on 10/20/2008 03:59 PM by tiffaustin
|
|
