Legend has it that the area's first Presbyterian church service was held in a local saloon in 1848. Eleven charter members soon began meeting with the Rev. A. Stephen F. Cocke in a warehouse also shared by the Methodist congregation and the school. A church building was erected on land purchased in 1849; the structure was destroyed in the 1886 storm. The group disbanded in 1903 and was reorganized with the Rev. M. W. Doggett in 1909. In 1956, dedication ceremonies were held for a modern facility in a new location. With a membership of 132 in 1997, the First Presbyterian Church of Port Lavaca continues to be active in worship and in community and missionary outreach. (1998)