Members of Dallas’ oldest continuously operating Protestant church will gather Sunday afternoon, June 23 at the original site where the church began 150 years ago in Dallas’ West End Historic District for an anniversary celebration complete with hymn singing, revival preaching and story telling. The event will begin at 5 p.m. at the parking lot adjacent to 703 Ross Avenue in the West End Historic District of Downtown Dallas.
Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) began meeting in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln was president on a site that is now 703 Ross Avenue in Dallas. The church was torn down in 1890 to make way for a new Dallas city police station and jail (today the historic building is a law firm), but a historical marker placed on the building in 1938 is a permanent reminder that Dallas’ first church building—Central Christian Church—once occupied the site.
Central Christian Church moved two more times before settling into its current location in 1953 at 4711 Westside Drive in Dallas, adjacent to the western border of the Town of Highland Park. Today’s Central Christian Church is home to a diverse membership (Dallas real estate icon Ebby Halliday Acers is a member) that includes an Hispanic congregation, an Ethiopian congregation and one of Dallas’ most popular dog parks behind the church.
More information is available at the church website.
Story courtesy of Chris Kelley; photo courtesy of Central Christian Church.