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The
Presbyterian Church was organized February 7, 1842, with
thirteen
original members. The first building was erected in
1857.
During the time between the organization and the erection of the first
church, services were held held sometimes in the school-house,
sometimes in large barns and sometimes in private dwellings.
For
several years the house of worship was a mere shell, with no ceiling,
only loose boards for a floor and no pews, simply slabs arranged in
tiers and supported at each end by logs running the whole length of the
building at right angles to them. Ten years after the
organization, the membership had increased tonineteen. In
February, 1864, a call was made for Rev. W. T. Dickson for one-half his
time. Mr. Dickson accepted, and thus became the first pastor
of
the church. He continued in charge of the congregation until
1874, when he severed his relations with the church, and was succeeded
in the following year by the present pastor [1888], Rev. J. W.
McConkey. The membership of church is 500, of the
Sunday-school
400. Following is the present session: T. W. Dale,
R. C.
Craig, J. A. McDowell, James W. Anderson, I. C. Ketler, James Gilman
and J. E. Black.
The
officers of the various societies connected
with the congregation are: Sunday-school,
J. E. Black,
superintendent; J. N. White, assistant. Ladies Missionary
Society: Mrs. B. F. Junkin, president; Mrs. A. M. Craig,
secretary; Miss Ina McDowell, president; Miss Flora Craig, secretary,
and Mrs. Effie Meyers, treasurer. Children's Band:
Miss
Flora McDonald, president; Miss Mary Craig, secretary, and Miss Lizzie
Laughlin, treasurer.
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Tower
Presbyterian Church has also been called Presbyterian Church and First
Presbyterian Church
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A
New-school Presbyterian Church was built about 1848, and is still
standing. The first preacher was Rev. George W. Hampson, who
was
a supply, and organized the society. The congregation was
supplied for a number of years, and the first installed pastor was Rev.
W. T. Dickson. This church is the only one in the village
[1877].
Source: History of
Mercer County, 1877,
page 61
1910
Postcard Photo
submitted by Pamela
E. Hartman
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In 1876,
shortly after Rev. McConkey became pastor of the church, Isaac C.
Ketler came to Grove City (then called Pine Grove) and opened a Select
School, which evolved into Grove City College. Dr. Ketler and
Rev. McConkey labored together for nearly 38 years, Dr. Ketler serving
as ruling elder in the church, and Rev. McConkey serving on the board
of trustees of Dr. Ketler's school.
Rev.
McConkey served the church until 1910, when he resigned. He
served as pastor emeritus until his death in 1913, the same year that
Dr. Ketler died.
Rev. F.
Paul McConkey, son of Rev. McConkey, was called in 1915.
Church membership had grown to over a thousand. He served the
church until 1920, when he accepted the call to Gaston Memorial Church
in Philadelphia.
In 1921,
Rev. Charles Henry Williamson was called to the church; during his
pastorate new
church building was opened and the largest church membership was
recorded - - 1,517 members in 1929. He served as pastor for
21 years.
The church building was renovated during the pastorate of Rev. Robert
L. Veon, 1966-71. The E. J. Fithian Chapel was added at this
time.
Source: History
of Mercer County, 1888, page 508
| Charles
Cunningham, one of
the original members of the petitioning committee for the Presbyterian
Church, donated the land to build a church building around
1847.
Later, in 1878, a new house of worship was built near the original
building, at a cost of $4,000. This building shown above was
located
on Broad Street between Main and Poplar Streets (the current site of
the American Legion Hall). In the late 1920s, after
the moving of the
church to the new building, this church building was refaced with brick
and served as a prayer house and Sunday school rooms. The
front part
of the building has been town down.
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The cornerstone
for the Tower
Presbyterian Church building was set in 1925, with construction
continuing into 1926 at a cost of roughly $21,000.
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