<=
/span> It is not known exactly when the “seed=
of
the kingdom” was first planted in Hamilton=
County,
Texas, or by whom, but one of=
the
great pioneers for the cause of Christ in this part of Texas was William Stirman
who was brought into the restoration movement by “Racoon”
John Smith. William Stirman preached in many <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Texas towns and communities from 1=
846
– 1849. This, and t=
he
fact that some were New Testament Christians when they moved here, prob=
ably
accounts for the few scattered Christians found in Hamilton when they first started to
organize into a congregation about 1875. One historic document notes th=
at
there were representatives from the church in Ham=
ilton
at a Christian Conference held in Austin,
Texas in 1854. This would indicate more than a
century of New Testament Christianity in Hamilton.
&n=
bsp;
T. E. (Ed) Stirman was called the
“Moses Lard” of Texas. For awhile he lived in Comanch=
e and
preached in surrounding communities.&n=
bsp;
From a letter by C. M. Wilmeth, which
appeared in the Texas Christian Monthly, June 1876, “I assisted
Brother T. E. Stirman in a six day meeting =
in Hamilton, Sun=
day,
June 21 - Saturday, June 27, 1876.&nbs=
p;
Eight took membership and a congregation of about twenty was
organized.
&n=
bsp;
On June 24, 1884, the original incorporation Charter was applied=
for
and signed by Hiram Hawley, Jef Boynton and=
W. M.
Sparkman as trustees, with the name of Simpson Loy=
d
affixed thereto as Justice of the Peace and Notary Public. The Charter was signed and made
official by Joe W. Baines, Secretary of the state of Texas, on July 2, 1884 A.D. The church in Hamilton obtained this Charter of
Incorporation in order to buy a lot and build a house of worship. The estimated value of goods,
cattle, land rights and credits owned and to be owned by this incorpora=
tion
was then fifteen hundred dollars.
&n=
bsp;
The first meeting house was a wooden structure built on the corn=
er
of Reagan and Leslie Streets in 1884.&=
nbsp;
It had a bell tower and a bell.=
When the church outgrew the building, it was torn down and a lar=
ger
frame building was erected on the same lot. In 1928, a Sister Pace left so=
me
property to the church which enabled them to add the frame building. A commodious brick building wa=
s erected
in 1936, known as the Reagan
Street Church of Christ.
&n=
bsp;
The pr=
esent
meeting house was constructed in 1964 on a five acre site located on
the corner of Nicholson and Boynton Streets. After years of absence, the be=
ll was
placed permanently in the church courtyard.
&n=
bsp;
Some of the men who have preached and held gospel meetings are:<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> W. M. Speck, T. H. Bass, C. R.
Nichols, J. D. Tant, Early Arceneaux,
Thomas Milholland, W. L. Olapant,
Lyle Price, Lanny Henn=
iger,
Price Billingsley, Claude McClung, Cled Wal=
lace,
Paul Southern, O. O. O. Newton, Leland Aiton, E.
W. Stovall, John Burkhart, Luther Norman, R. V. Hamilton, Luke Shira, Joe Scarborough, Harry Johnson, Wilburn De=
nnis,
Holland Boring, Sr., Dennis Kellog, Herman
Beauchamp, John Lowry, Glen Gray, Chris Frizzell,
Tom Haddox, Martin Sun=
iga,
Juan Moncada, Jim Sull=
enger,
Don Morrison, and Richard L. (Dick) Stovall, Don Middleton, Troy Sandifer, (Youth Minister), presently Kerry
Clark.
&n=
bsp;
Elders serving the church were and are: Warner Ferguson, E. B. Pruitt,=
Sr.,
Jessie Shipman, Will Smitherman, William St=
anley,
C. T. Lawson, W. M. Sparkman, J. T. Boynton, J. E. Smith, J. P. Gerald,=
P.
M. Gerald, G. W. Glover, W. P. McPherson, Jr., Burton Wilson, M. A. Wil=
son,
Lee Sullivan, J. W. (Pete) Jordan, George Tolbert, Jack Davidson, Jim
Ervin, Jimmy C. Adams, John C. Jones, and Jim Sull=
enger.
&n=
bsp;
Deacons serving the church were and are: Tom Smith, J. F. Pruitt, Olney
Glover, Syl Dyer, Glen Horner, Eldon Jones,=
W. O.
Manning, W. P. Lawson, Don McCord, J. E. Pruitt, Ray Ragsdale, Gus Rost, Paul Gardner, E. H. Jones, Ellis Lee, James=
L.
Adams, Jimmy C. Adams, Ray Horner, John C. Jones, Bill Lewis, Danny
Hemphill, Barry Christian, Dennis Ensor, Danny Poe, Richard Beers, Will
Hale, Dale Harrison, Monte Horne, Jason Horton, Mike Southerland, and M=
ike
Turner.
&n=
bsp;
With many prayers and much planning, groundwork for the Fellowship
Building began September 15, 1993 and was completed April 1, 1994. =
It
was built adjacent to the main building, and was constructed to benefit=
the
Lord’s Church of Park Heights with spiritual growth and education=
al
needs. It provides a fell=
owship
area, location for funeral dinners of friends and family members, weddi=
ngs,
showers and receptions, congregational activities, and community functi=
ons.
&n=
bsp;
Bobby Horner, Architectural Draftsman, giving of his time and
talent, designed the basic building plans. John C. Jones contracted and
constructed the building. His
expertise and personal touches has added to the usefulness of the
facility. Bobby and John =
grew
up worshipping with the Park
Heights
congregation. Bobby is an
inspector with the City of Waco. John is currently an Elder of =
Park Heights. He owns and operates J. C. Jon=
es Co.
in Hamilton.
=
&n=
bsp;