History
History | Values | Staff
HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Presbyterian services were first held in Norman in November, 1889, in a building on the southeast corner of Peters Avenue and Gray Street. First Presbyterian Church of Norman was later chartered by the former Chickasha Presbytery on March 22, 1891, as one of the first churches in Norman, one month shy of the second anniversary of the Oklahoma Land Run and within months of Norman being chosen as the site for the University of Oklahoma.
The church’s first building was finished by the fall of 1892 and was built primarily with funds given by the Presbyterian Board of Education. David Ross Boyd, the first President of the University of Oklahoma, later wrote to then pastor, The Rev. Emerson O. Houser, “The building had just been finished and had not been swept out. I recall that I rendered that service as my first contribution to the work of the church.”
Two previous locations preceded the church’s present site. The first church building was located at Gray Street and Crawford Avenue. The congregation later moved to a location on the corner of Main Street at Webster. The church building located today on University Boulevard was constructed in three stages between 1950 and 1964 with substantial support during the first two stages from the Westminster Foundation (a unit of the Synod then providing for a Presbyterian presence on the OU and OSU campuses.) Over 550 people gathered for the first worship service in the new (and present) sanctuary on November 28, 1954.
On February 7, 1957, Norman’s biggest fire in 33 years occurred on the second floor of the church’s east wing, causing over $150,000 in damage to the building, including the minister’s study and all his papers. The building was restored five months later. A Christian Education wing was added in April, 1965. Property across the street from the church was purchased as additional parking for the church, following a fraternity house fire in August, 1980. Over the past 18 years, much care has been given to the upkeep of the church facility.
Over the past 107 years, First Presbyterian Church has been blessed by the service of 12 senior ministers and many wonderful staff members. United Campus Ministry (formally Westminster Foundation) was established on campus in 1924 as a ministry to the students of the University of Oklahoma. In 1957, the church hired its first Director of Christian Education and in 1963 called its first Associate Pastor. A Youth Director was added in 1994. First Presbyterian Church now serves as the third largest church in Indian Nations Presbytery. Professional and support staff positions today number 15 and lead the church’s current membership of over 900 in committed and active service to its community, the Presbytery, and beyond.