Fayetteville (Washington, County) First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was borne out of a local revival meeting conducted by Robert Graham and John T. Johnson and held in February 1848. At the close of the revival, the church was organized and boasted a membership of nearly 50 citizens. Robert Graham served as the church's first resident minister (1848-1858). During the 1850s, Graham founded Arkansas College (located where the current First Christian Church now stands), which was the first opened, degree-conferring institution to be chartered by the state. From 1858 through the first half of the Civil War, the church was helmed by Unionist William Baxter. While serving as a military hospital during the war, the church (as well as Arkansas College) was burned, forcing the congregation to worship for several years in a local Masonic Hall. Rebuilt in 1872, the church succumbed to fire once more in December 1912. Because of the numerous fires early in the church's history, many of the earliest congregational records are lost. A new church building was completed and dedicated in May of 1914. Though numerous renovations and enlargements have been added to the church over the course of the century, this structure continues to serve as the Fayetteville First Christian Church. More comprehensive church histories are located in the collection, see Box 1 Files 1-3, as well as in the publication, Fayetteville First Christian Church: Historical Notes from the First 160 Years (published by the First Christian Church, Fayetteville: Arkansas, 2009).