Our Facility

Our Facility

Our History:

Most of the settlers who came to Collin County during the 1840s were from Tennessee and Kentucky. This was due to the fact that Louisville, Kentucky served as the headquarters for the Peter’s Colony. The role of the Peter's Colony was to give land in this area to settlers, as authorized by the Republic of Texas. Many of these people were Cumberland Presbyterians, a branch of the Presbyterian church which originated in the Cumberland region west of the Alleghenies. There were three Cumberland Presbyterian churches in Collin County before the Civil War, in Walnut Grove, Parker, and McKinney.


After the close of the Civil War, settlers began coming from Tennessee and Kentucky to  Collin County, due to the aftermath of devastation in much of the "Deep South." Some of them were members of the “Southern” or “Old School” Presbyterian Church, our Presbyterian Church, U.S.  And so it was that our church came into being in 1874.


In one of his notable addresses, the Reverend Robert I. Gannon, former president of Fordham University, said, “All true civilization is ninety percent heirloom and memories - an accumulation of small but precious deposits left by the generations that have gone before us.”  It is in the spirit of calling to mind the heirlooms and memories of our church that this little history is presented to the members of the congregation.

Our First 100 Years
Church

The Peter Plotkin Paintings

By: Annie Malone Erwin

The two large Plotkin oil paintings that hang in the church were given to First Presbyterian Church, McKinney by Arthur T. Church, grandson of Colonel and Mrs. Aaron Coffee.  Although an Episcopalian, Arthur inherited a love for the Presbyterian church and often worshipped here. He commissioned the artist to paint these religious pictures - one of the Good Samaritan, the other of Samuel Anointing David to be King - for use in the ritual of the Odd Fellows organization. They hung in the Lodge Hall until they were given to the church.

Church

Peter Plotkin was a White Russian who escaped from the Bolsheviks under harrowing circumstances. He was a protégé of Count Leo Tolstoy, who let the artist sleep on a couch in his study. Plotkin, a very versatile person, was a great actor, a linguist, and a painter. He was a member of the Russian Royal Academy. Judge Church and Dr. E. L. Burton sponsored Plotkin. He lived in the Church home for more than a year, while he painted portraits of the Church family.


In the Burton home, the artist decorated the reception hall with beautiful and interesting murals of classic design, while a colorful hunting scene was depicted on the wainscoting of the dining room. Plotkin lived in Dallas for a number of years before his family finally came to join him.

Partners in Christ

We provide space in our building for two other churches to perform their services:

Central Park Church of God, operating under the auspices of the Central Park Church of God in Garland and The McKinney Seventh Day Adventist Church

Visit Central Park Church of God

Learn More

Visit McKinney Seventh Day Adventist Church

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