Winnetka Congregational Church, Org. 1914
by Paula Bosse
The Oak Cliff church’s first pastor? (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
I stumbled across this photograph tonight and was really taken with it. It shows a man standing in front of the Winnetka Congregational Church in Oak Cliff, located at W. Twelfth and S. Windomere streets — on land now part of the property of the W. E. Greiner school. The church was organized in 1914, but by 1925 they were making plans to expand. A new church was built in 1929, just across W. Twelfth, facing Windomere.
The new building still stands, but Winnetka Congregational Church doesn’t seem to have made it past the 1950s.
Nice though that newer church is, I think I prefer the smaller one from 1914 with the uncomfortable-looking man standing in front of it.
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Sources & Notes
Top photo from the Tulane University Digital Library (with the name of the church misspelled as “Winnietka”), here.
I love Sanborn maps. Here’s one from 1922 which shows what the neighborhood looked like then. The original small wood frame church can be seen just north of a neighborhood completely undeveloped, except for the Winnetka School. Check out the very large map, here.
Background on the church can be found on the Oak Cliff Yesterday blog, here.
If you REALLY want to learn about this church’s history, there is a book, History of Winnetka Congregational Church, Dallas, Texas by Sarah E. Johnson (1935). Looks like the Dallas Public Library has a copy, here.
And, lastly, here’s what the church built in 1929/1930 looks like today. (The original church was built in the area seen in the background, now part of the Greiner campus.)
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Copyright © 2015 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Flashback : Dallas 
This was just behind the first 7-11. The pastor would come around and talk to us after school when we gathered behind the store. This was 67 -68. Not sure of the denomination at that time. I remember little parking as I am sure many attending were close by. Thanks Paula!
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You’re welcome!
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This was Winnetka Bible Church in the 1960s. My grandparents brought me here for years. The congregation moved to Lancaster and became Faith Bible church. The old church had a Spanish speaking congregation. A couple bought it a few years ago to live in. It appears to be boarded up and abandoned right now.
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Thanks for the additional info. I understand that the old church building will be home to an arts organization.
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I almost thought Dallas didn’t have any Congregational Churches. They’re much more common up north. One reason this Congregational Church may not have made it past the 1950s is that Congregationalists merged with another church to form United Church of Christ (different from Church of Christ) sometime in the mid-50s. I’m with you – l like the small, old wood-frame church.
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My family attended this church when it was Winnetka Bible Church from the late 1950’s until we moved to Tulsa in 1970. I was always curious what happened to it.
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