The Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Congregation, the first organized church in Ellis County, was chartered with twenty members on July 25, 1847, two years before the county was formed. It began under the leadership of the Rev. Finis E. King, a pioneer area minister, with assistance from the Rev. J.C. Provine of Paris in Lamar County. Services were first held under a brush arbor and later in a cedar log tabernacle built by Matt McElroy and his eight sons. In 1872, during the pastorate of the Rev. D.G. Molloy, the present frame sanctuary was completed, built by J.P. Laughlin with lumber from Cherokee County in East Texas. Prominent early ministers included the Rev. King, pastor from the church's organization until his death in 1859, the Rev. Molloy, who served from 1861 to 1880, and the Rev. R.M. White, who was instrumental in forming several Ellis County churches. Since the earliest days of settlement, the congregation has led in the development of Ovilla and the surrounding area.