Our History

The congregation of the Lord’s Church that now meets at 1107 W. Church Street in Livingston, Texas was begun in 1912 when D.D. Moore and his wife, Martha moved to the Livingston area from Arkansas with their two sons and started a farming operation.

The Moore family started meeting with a group in the East Tempe school house. Groups of different denominations would take turns being in charge of the services each week. The Moore’s were the first to represent the Church of Christ. The Moore family children were Luther (Sandy), Charles Don, Katherine, Christine, Maud, Corrie, And Cornie. The family farm is still owned by family members, although the original house was replaced in 1971.

Other members of the Church of Christ arrived in the area and the little congregation began meeting on the front porch of the Moore home. Brother Barrick began preaching for the congregation, even though he and his wife rode the train from Houston to Livingston and back each weekend. Sometimes the members paid the train fares, other times the members contributed eggs, meat, and vegetables as compensation. This group included the Allen and Lizzie Pridgen family, Mr. & Mrs. Effie McClanahan, Miss Bessie Hasty, Miss Irene Hasty, Mr. & Mrs. J.V. (Shorty) Moss, and Mae Bailey.

In 1926, Mrs. Essie Ivey, a widow from Lufkin, Texas married S.B. Townley of the West Tempe-Blanchard community. She brought with her three children from her previous marriage: Talley Ivey, Bessie Ivey (White), and Fay Ivey (Moore). Later, in 1941, Fay Ivey would marry Charles Moore, one of the sons of founding member D.D. Moore.