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Odessa Church of Christ
, which celebrated its 100th anniver-
sary in July, 1992, is located at Fourth and Otway. After meeting
in different locations, the church’s first building was destroyed in
1886 by a windstorm. Another building, erected on the same foun-
dation, burned. The former building was constructed in 1893 on
land purchased for $100 from the John Kirkpatrick Sr. family.
The interior of the building, now used for a recreation area and
dining hall, was damaged in 1963 by a fire of unknown origin. A
new sanctuary adjacent to the present structure was completed
and dedicated in 1999.
In 1905 Odessa also was the site of the
Western Bible and
Literary College
, housed in buildings which had been abandoned
by an unsuccessful college. The dormitory still exists as two homes
on South First Street. A third section of the building was made into
a home southeast of Odessa on Varner Road.
2015-2016 Odessa City Guide
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St. George Catholic Church, 716 S. Third Street.
Community
Church History
St. George Catholic Church
dates back to 1888. Early church
records were destroyed in a fire at the Higginsville Catholic Church.
In 1888, the first church building was located near Odessa Junior
High School. It burned only a year later. In 1890, the church relo-
cated to a structure at Second and Dryden streets. The congregation
remained in the building until August 1964, when that building
was demolished and a church was built at Third and Phillips across
from Odessa High School.
Begun as a mission, the church received its first residential pas-
tor, the Rev. James Hardy, in 1977. The church constructed a parish
hall on the lot next to the church in 1978. A home for the priest was
purchased in 1983 on Third Street, south of the church.
A new building was dedicated inApril, 2005 adjacent to the former
church which now serves as a meeting hall.
New Horizon Presbyterian Church
, 4266 S. 131 Highway.
NewHorizon Presbyterian Church USA, organized on January 27,
1883, was the first church to open in Odessa and the only church to
stay at its original location until a new building opened for services
on July 14, 2002.
The church sits south of the Odessa city limits on 131 Highway on
land donated by the B.B. Barr family. The name was changed prior
to the move to the new location.
The first building, destroyed in the May 11, 1886 storm, had to be
rebuilt. Eleven years later, in 1897, the building was dismantled and
rebuilt after faulty workmanship and material were discovered. The
church burned on January 29, 1900, and the building and records
were destroyed. Finally, for the fourth time, the building, constructed
in 1900-1901, was completed on the original site and was in use until
it was razed upon completion of the new church building. Site, located
at Second and Dryden streets, is now the home of B&L Bank.
Odessa Restoration Branch
, 131 Highway North.
In September of 1989, the
Odessa Restoration Branch
broke
off from the Odessa Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-Day Saints church. The congregation met temporarily at the
Odessa Truck Sales facility on I-70, until a new structure was built
on Highway 131, one-fourth mile north of I-70. The first service was
held there December 5, 1992.
Church of Christ
, Fourth and Otway Streets.