Church History

There were two predecessor churches to our current church: The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in January 1873 and built the church seen at the right in 1876 on the corner of Third and Poplar. A second Presbyterian church was organized in November 1877 under the auspices of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions.
In 1883, the second church built the “Brick Church” on the site of the current YWCA on First and Birch. In 1907 the two churches merged when the Cumberland Church brought its members into the Presbyterian Brick church which was just a little larger.
It soon became evident that the Brick church was too small and construction on our current church building started in 1912. The first services in the current church were in the fall of 1913, but the church was not dedicated until 1915 when the pipe organ was installed and operational. The Christian Education wing was dedicated in 1970 and was the last major addition.
In 2004 the First Presbyterian Church celebrates 131 years of being a congregation and 90 years in this building. In those 131 years, 33 ministers have been called to serve the Lord in our midst.

Click here to see how our Capital Campaign hopes to add some modern touches, yet keep this historical background to our church facility