{"nrhp_refnum":"78002912","name":"First Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fannin and 3rd Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Van Horn","county":"Culberson County","state":"TX","lat":31.042545800000028,"lon":-104.83481372099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large one-story stuccoed adobe church at the southwest corner of Fannin and Third Streets in Van Horn, Culberson County, Texas, built between 1901 and 1902.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the first permanent Protestant religious structure in Culberson County, built on land donated by the Texas and Pacific Railroad. It served as a center of religious and social life in Van Horn and housed several denominations before they built their own churches. It is also described as a vernacular interpretation of an East Coast church form in the Trans-Pecos region.","narrative":"Built between 1901 and 1902 at the corner of Fannin and Third Streets in Van Horn, this church is a one-story, rectangular building of stuccoed adobe with eighteen-inch walls on a shallow native stone foundation. A gable roof, now covered in asbestos shingles, carries a short spire over the east entrance. Early photographs show scored and painted walls imitating stone blocks and a Carpenter Gothic porch with turned columns, but these features were lost, and a 1949 fire led to heavy interior remodeling. A manse was added nearby in 1912-1913 and a cinder block Sunday School wing in 1930. The church was the first permanent Protestant religious structure in Culberson County, on land donated by the Texas and Pacific Railroad. It began as an interdenominational church and hosted several congregations before they built their own. It was also the setting for weddings, funerals and social gatherings. After deconsecration it passed to the county historical survey committee, which planned restoration as a community and museum space.","period_of_significance":"1901-1902","architect_builder":"John Clark (?)","architectural_style":"Vernacular church form with original Carpenter Gothic details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked as unoccupied and in fair condition; the church was recently deconsecrated and transferred to the county historical survey committee, which hoped to restore it for community meetings and museum displays.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.093946-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/9716/40971621/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002912.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002912/1a145fdbf4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002912/1a145fdbf4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_presbyterian_vanhorn_2009.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_presbyterian_vanhorn_2009.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971621","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Van_Horn,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453649"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/culberson-county/first-presbyterian-church-78002912/"}