First Presbyterian Church

The First Presbyterian Church is an outstanding example of the Norman phase of the Romanesque Revival style, popular in this country during the second half of the 19th century. It was also the first Texas project under the direction of Nicholas J. Clayton, who went on to become the state's premier 19th-century architect.

The church was formally organized in 1840 by the Reverend John McCullough and a congregation of fifteen. They worshipped in a frame building on the southwest corner of Church and 19th Streets. Reverend Robert Franklin Bunting, D. D., arrived in Galveston in 1868 to assume the pastorship at First Presbyterian and to spearhead the building of a permanent churchhouse. Bunting had already proved himself to be an energetic organizer and minister by developing one of the foremost congregations in the Southern Assembly in Nashville and elevating a fourteen-member congregation in San Antonio to the largest Presbyterian group in Texas. During the Civil War, he had served as chaplain for Terry's Texas Rangers in Tennessee.

Early in the 1870s, the drive for a spacious new church was begun. The post-Civil War years being lean, all fund sources were explored, including weekly musical events, socials, and teas held by the ladies. By August 1872 the plans drawn by Jones and Baldwin of Memphis were accepted. Nicholas J. Clayton, a protege of the Memphis office, was to supervise the construction. A local builder, John Parry, was contracted for the brickwork at the rate of $24 per thousand bricks laid. W. G. Crookshank was to complete the carpentry for $2, 700. 50. Construction of the chapel foundations began on October 31, 1872, and the cornerstone was laid on January 23 of the next year.

Work proceeded slowly, and it was not until March 1875, that the roof was erected. Crookshank's death, after completing only $785 worth of carpentry, contributed to the delay. He was replaced by N. S. Sabell and by September 1, 1876, the chapel was complete.
With the completion of the chapel, the building funds were exhausted, and the ladies embarked on another successful fundraising campaign. The sanctuary exterior was finally finished in 1886, and the interior was designed by George E. Dickey of Houston, in 1888. After a total expenditure of between $80, 000 and $90, 000, the church was dedicated on February 26, 1889. Progress on the construction had been closely followed in local newspapers, and the entire city praised First Presbyterian as a majestic addition to Galveston's already distinguished architectural scene.

The entire state benefited from Clayton's coming to Texas to supervise the construction of First Presbyterian. Born in 1849, Clayton was brought to the U. S. from Ireland at the age of two. After serving in the navy in the mid-1860s, he studied architecture and structural engineering with W. H. Baldwin of Memphis. Clayton settled in Galveston to stay when he came South to supervise his parent firm's project and soon opened the first architectural firm in the city. His career received a boost when the 1885 fire destroyed vast areas of the city, and Clayton was commissioned to rebuild them. During this period he designed some of the most spectacular public and private buildings of the nineteenth century in Texas. Some of his many accomplishments in Galveston, all on the National Register, are the Ashbel Smith Building ("Old Red") at the University of Texas Medical School (National Register 1969), the Bishop's Palace (1970), Ursuline Convent (1972), The Garten Verein Dancing Pavilion (1977), and numerous commercial structures along the Strand that are included in the East End Historic District (1975). Others, such as the opulent Beach Hotel and the Electric Pavilion, were destroyed by fire shortly after their erection. For other areas of the state, he designed the exterior of the Church of the Annunciation in Houston (National Register 1975), and St. Edward's University and St. Mary's Cathedral, both in Austin (National Register 1973). His practice extended to other locations in the Southeast and even Mexico. An extremely productive architect, he employed prolific detail, rich texture, and variegated surfaces. He was most adept at the revival styles Gothic and Romanesque -- but interpreted them to his own preferences with exuberance. For a variety of reasons, he suffered a rapid and severe professional decline after the turn of the century and died bankrupt in 1916.