My primary church history interest is in the Baptists, of course. However, I have other historical interests. One is my county, region, and state. As we have gotten involved in trying to preserve the oldest church building in our county – which was built and owned by the Cumberland Presbyterians – my interest in the Cumberland Presbyterian churches in Rusk County, Texas has been stirred. I have been surprised to find that the Cumberland Presbyterians were once much stronger in the county.
Before I began researching the history of the Pine Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Pine Hill, I believed there were (had been) four Cumberland Presbyterian churches in Rusk County – Mt. Hope, Pine Grove, Pleasant Springs, and Willow Springs. I also knew there had once been a Presbyterian Church meeting near the Maple Grove Cemetery at Minden, but did not know to which branch of Presbyterians it belonged.
After starting this research, I have discovered that at least twenty Cumberland Presbyterian churches have existed in Rusk County at one time or another: Brachfield, Grandview, Henderson, Hickory Grove, Leverett’s Chapel, London, Maple Grove/Minden, Mt. Enterprise, Mt. Hope, New Harmony, Oak Flat, Overton, Pine Grove, Pine Grove # 2, Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Springs, Saint Bettie’s, Sulphur Springs, Union Grove, and Willow Springs. A few of these were probably short-lived. There may have been more than these. (There was also a church at Linn Flat in Nacogdoches County, with family connections to the Watkins family in the Patrick/Pine Hill area.)
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church originated in a schism from the older Presbyterian Church, over predestination, revivalism, centralized authority, and ministerial credentials. An independent Cumberland Presbytery was organized in Tennessee in 1810, which became a fully new and distinct denomination in 1829.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church had become the third largest Presbyterian & Reformed denomination in the USA by 1900. Around this time the Northern Presbyterians (Presbyterian Church USA) revised their Confession of Faith to moderate its statements on Calvinism, predestination, etc., and invited the Cumberland Presbyterians to unite with them. The majority of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church General Assembly voted for the union, which became official in 1906. However, at the local level many Cumberland Presbyterians were not in favor of the merger, rejected it, and continued as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. (The Texas Presbytery opposed the merger by almost 2 to 1, though a majority of its ministers voted for it.)
Here is a little historical information I have discovered and put together about the Cumberland Presbyterians in Rusk County. (Some of the links are quite random, and there is a lot here that needs to be fleshed-out. I do not think I have posted anything that is incorrect, but it really needs to be gone over again at some point, with references attached.)
Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in Rusk County, Texas
Pleasant Hill, organized 1845-1856, Pleasant Hill community between Henderson and London. In 1845, Captain Robert Washington Smith donated land in the Pleasant Hill community for a church and cemetery. It is uncertain how soon afterward the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized, but at least before 1856 (and likely much closer to 1845). The Trinity Presbytery met “in March, A. D. 1847, in Col. R. W. Smith’s neighborhood, in Rusk county, Texas.” This suggests a church was likely in existence by that time. R. W. Smith was a brother-in-law of Cumberland Presbyterian minister Archibald H. Watkins. Some traditions hold that Sumner Bacon organized this church. There is some discrepancy over Bacon’s time of death (1842 vs. 1844), but it seems this church could not have been organized likely before his death. At least two churches came out of the Pleasant Hill Church, formed of members of Pleasant Hill church at the end of the 1850s. The Cumberland Presbyterians exchanged properties with the Baptists at London (now Old London) around 1859, and another CP church was formed at Mt. Hope about 1860.
- “Pleasant Hill Rests, Silently Relating Memories Of Ages,” Elton L. Miller, Henderson Daily News, Friday, July 22, 1938, p. 2
- Our Church in Texas, Texas Presbyterian, November 3, 1846
- Trinity Presbytery, C.P.C., Texas Presbyterian, June 26, 1847
London (Old London). This is where the congregation from Pleasant Hill moved after swapping locations with the Baptists. It is currently unknown to this writer what happened to this congregation.
Mt. Hope, Gaston/Joinerville, organized 1860. M. J. Kelley may have led in the organization. He is buried at Mt. Hope. Some of the Pleasant Hill Cumberland Presbyterians organized here because it was closer for them than going to London. Original building was located near the northeast corner of the cemetery. Presently existing building was built in the 1930s. Mt. Hope CPC officially closed in September 2022. However, it is not clear that they continued to be supplied by Cumberland Presbyterian ministers up until its closing.
Pine Grove, organized 1849, near Pine Hill, Texas. Originally met in a log cabin. The current building was built in 1870, and is the oldest existing church building in Rusk County, Texas. Pine Grove disbanded in 1905-1906, around the same time of the Presbyterian/Cumberland Presbyterian merger. The demise of the church may have been partly due to members who were forming new churches nearer their homes – but it is likely that this denominational struggle over merging with the Northern Presbyterians was involved. A Quitclaim Deed (1990) giving the property to the Pine Grove Cemetery Association states that when the church dissolved “all of its members became members of either the Willow Springs Presbyterian Church, P. C. (USA), or Pleasant Springs Presbyterian Church, P. C. (USA), both formerly Cumberland Presbyterian churches…”
Pleasant Springs, at Patrick Community, near Brachfield. Organizers probably attended Pine Grove before constituting a new church in the Patrick Community. Pleasant Springs was organized September 23, 1881, and petitioned the Texas Presbytery to receive them. I. W. Hill was an early moderator. Other ministers include J. A. Hornbeak and A. A. Swain.
Brachfield, at Brachfield between Minden and Pine Hill. Possibly started after the merger, especially if Pleasant Springs joined the older Presbyterian group.
Minden/Maple Grove, at Minden, central Rusk County. Organized January 3, 1875. “At the December Session [of the Texas Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church] in 1874 passed an order dividing Mt. Enterprise congregation and ordered a new congregation to be organized to be known as Minden congregation…” Archibald Watkins was the first pastor. Apparently left the Cumberland Presbyterians in 1906.
Willow Springs, Chapman/Pine Hill. This church was organized by members from Pine Grove, October 15, 1905 – first session meeting November 19, 1905. L. E. Tipps was pastor and moderator, with F. M. Wylie & J. B. Wylie, elders. 16 charter members (notes from a session book and information supplied by Robert Wylie).
Mt. Enterprise, at Mt. Enterprise in southern Rusk County. Existed before 1874, when the Texas Presbytery voted to divide the congregation and start another church in Minden. Apparently still existed in 1900.
Hickory Grove (Hickory Flat), organized 1872, probably south of Henderson. “April 8, 1883…the persons whose Names are hereinafter Subscribed do desire that there (sic) membership be transferred from Hickory Grove Church the which was organized A.D. 1872 to New Harmony Church and that the church be known as New Harmony Church in the place of Hickory Grove and we petition the Texas Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to take us under her care and jurisdiction.”
New Harmony, The New Harmony Church was received under the care of the Texas Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church July 8, 1883. The first session minute is dated August 7, 1883. The New Harmony Community was about 3-1/2 miles southwest of Henderson. Based on newspaper mentions, this church still existed in 1942. People mentioned minutes tend to be related to the Bethel, Davis, Compton/Pone, and Hickory Grove communities/cemeteries.
In 1937, the Alexanders describe their farms as located “In the New Harmony Community, about three and one-half miles S. W. Henderson.”
Overton, in the city of Overton, northwestern Rusk County. Organized as Piney Grove, moved to the city in 1872, becoming the first church in Overton. As members moved and died, the Overton congregation disbanded. It was reorganized in 1926, through the labors of G. F. Harris and J. D. Potts.
Pine Grove (African-American), near Brachfield, organized date unknown. Pine Grove # 2 belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. That predominantly African-American denomination separated from the predominantly white Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1874.
Saint Bettie’s (African-American), in Henderson on Harkless Street, organized in the 1800s. When the church was relocated in the early 1900s, the name was changed from the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Henderson to Saint Bettie’s Chapel. This was in honor of Sister Bettie Session, the oldest member of the church and the mother of C. P. minister George Session. Saint Bettie’s belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America.
Leverett’s Chapel, at Leverett’s Chapel in northwestern Rusk County, organized 1935.
Henderson. The Cumberland Presbyterians organized a church in Henderson in 1859. The congregation met at the corner of West Main and Van Buren Streets. In 1906, the Henderson Cumberland Presbyterian Church joined the Presbyterian Church USA, and became Central Presbyterian Church.
Grandview. Listed in the 1890, 1892, and 1894 minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, pp. 254, 284. Pastors L. E. Tipps and J. M. Cocke.
Oak Flat. Listed in the 1894 minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, p. 294. M. C. Hays, pastor. D. S. Wallace of Laneville was clerk of the session.
Sulphur Springs. Listed in the 1890, 1892, and 1894 minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, pp. 254, 284. Pastors J. S. Norvell and M. C. Hays.
Union Grove. At or near Chapman; listed in the 1899 minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, p 146a. No pastor listed. G. E. Wylie of Chapman was the clerk of the session.
1894 and 1899 Sessions
1890 and 1892 Sessions
Some Cumberland Presbyterian ministers mentioned in Rusk County.
Archibald H. Watkins, Pine Grove, et al. Watkins died in 1881 and is buried at Pine Grove. Early minister at Pine Grove and first Chief Justice of the court in Rusk County. His brother R. O. Watkins was also a minister.
Thomas H. Campbell, Brachfield (Thomas Hardesty Campbell, who later served at Bethel College and Memphis Theological Seminary 1943-1972).
Orville H. Gibson, Mt. Hope.
S. Q. Proctor, Overton, Leverett’s Chapel.
I. W. Hill, Pleasant Springs, Maple Grove, Mt. Enterprise.
M. J. Kelley, Pine Grove.
L. E. Tipps, Hickory Flat/Grove, Mt. Hope.
J. T. Jopling, Henderson.
Jeff D. Potts, last minister assigned to Pine Grove.
G. F. Harris.
Oran Hatch. Oddly, in the 1850 Rusk County census, he identified himself as an “M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Clergyman” even though he had already joined the Presbyterians.
S. A. McPherson, died in Waxahachie and is buried in Dallas.
Joseph Jones Weems, buried at Pine Grove. Lived near Pine Grove and was possibly its last pastor, according to family sources.
T. T. Thornton (probably returned to the Methodists). His obituary is in a Methodist periodical and only mentions him being a Methodist preacher. His tombstone apparently has the wrong year on it, since the Texas Christian Advocate probably did not print his obituary a year before he died! (1908 vs. 1909)
- Thornton, Texas Christian Advocate, June 25, 1908, p. 11
J. S. Norvell. Norvell’s wife came back to Nacogdoches County after he died.
Moody Cunningham Hays. Joined the Methodists, probably about the time the Cumberland Presbyterians united with the Northern Presbyterians. (He was a first cousin to my maternal grandmother.)
J. A. Hornbeak. Went with the Northern Presbyterians in 1906.
G. W. C. Self, New Harmony.
J. M. Cocke, Henderson, Grandview. Ordained in Marshall in 1890.
W. H. H. King, Overton.
H. B. Milner. Son of Arnold and Mary Milner, who are buried at Pine Grove.
J. G. Braly, Mt. Enterprise, 1892. His brother S. H. Braly may have also preached in Rusk County.
A. G. Matlock, Mt. Hope (Arleigh Glenn Matlock, who later served as Executive Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions from 1950 to 1962).
Licensed Rusk County ministers and candidates in 1891.
- W. C. Chadwick, Mt. Enterprise
- Sidney Clinton, Pine Hill
- J. F. Hays, Minden
- B. A. Hodges, Minden
Some newspaper clips:
Sins of our fathers revealed in local church records
Henderson Daily News, Wednesday, July 26, 1939, p. 7
Henderson Daily News, Sunday, August 16, 1942, p. 5
History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, by B. W. McDonnold, 1888
Encyclopedia Britannica.
Early in the 20th century the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. revised its Confession of Faith and included interpretations of predestination that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church found acceptable. Negotiations for union resulted in a majority of the Cumberland Presbyterians rejoining the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in 1906. Members who rejected the merger elected to continue as the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 2005 the Cumberland Presbyterian Church reported about 82,000 members and more than 700 congregations. Headquarters are in Memphis, Tenn.
In 1874 a separate Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church was established for African American members. This group, now called the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, in 1996 reported more than 15,000 members and about 150 congregations and is headquartered in Huntsville, Ala.
