History

Our congregation was organized in 1834 with fewer than 20 members. By the mid 1800s, the church was growing and needed a permanent location. 

The land for our church was given by Mr. William Thompson, a native Russian Jew. He came to Rutherfordton in the 1830, adopted the town as his own and the people as his family. A stained-glass window given in memory of Mr. Thompson is in our sanctuary.

A 60’ by 40’ framed structure (sketch above) was located on the property and jointly owned by the church and the Female Academy until 1885. The Female Academy occupied the first floor and the church sanctuary was on the second floor. Our church entrance was on Back Street which is now North Washington Street. The outside stairway led to the second floor sanctuary. The Female Academy entrance was accessed on the south side of the building via Academy Alley, which is now a concrete sidewalk. 

A melodeon or reed organ was the first musical instrument. The ladies of the church sold cakes and flowers to purchase it. 

The location of Rutherfordton Presbyterian has not changed since our first building. We are the oldest active church to worship on the same site since our beginnings in Rutherfordton.

Our second house of worship was a white frame building facing North Washington Street. Our congregation was growing after the Civil War. It was built on the same location as our first church. The windows were Gothic in style and the sanctuary entrance was topped with a steeple. Inside were wide pine floorboards and painted wooden boards on the walls. It was heated by a stove and lit by oil lamps.

Unfortunately, during this time period many of our valuable church records, kept at the newspaper office where the clerk of Session was employed as editor, were destroyed when his office burned in 1900.

A 1912 addition added Sunday school rooms on the north side. The additional
entrance to the left was topped with a smaller steeple that complimented the original. The oil lamps were ultimately replaced with electrical lighting.

The first structure on this property adjacent to our church was a log building. One occupant was the town candy maker “with some of his brightly colored sugar-sticks over 6’ long.” The other occupant was a harness maker and tanner “who enjoyed a remarkable reputation.” 

The congregation purchased the lot in 1877 for $450. At that time, a five-room house served as the first manse.

The third structure, built in 1926 (pictured above) and facing North Main Street, was a “commodious” house. and served as our manse until 1972. It was no longer used as a manse when the Hicks House, 278 North Washington, was willed to the congregation and served briefly as our manse. In the 1980s the congregation decided to no longer provide a manse for our ministers at 278 North Washington. Instead, the church chose to establish a housing allowance so pastors could buy their own homes and the North Washington Street house was sold.

From the early 1970s until 1995, the old manse housed a residential program for teenage girls. The program served girls and their families enabling them to heal and learn successful life skills. In 2002, the manse became a center for our church youth to gather for Sunday school and youth programs. For a short time, the house also served as a food pantry for the community. It was demolished in 2015 to make room for the latest addition to our church building.

In 1952, the congregation wanted to add Sunday school rooms to the 1883 building. However, they found it more economical to demolish that structure and build both a new sanctuary and Sunday school rooms.

The new church was built on the same location as the second church and continued the Gothic window style. The chancel was the same design as in the previous sanctuary. Lumber from the second church was used in the subfloor. The church bell was rehung into the current belfry.

Total cost for the new construction was $63,007.00. “Heartwood lumber, out from the very finest timber in our forest, has been used in the church building from the floor to the belfry.” Construction took 18 months and was paid for one year after it was occupied.

Our new church was 11,725 square feet and included a modern, well-equipped, and spacious kitchen. A fellowship hall, classrooms, restrooms, and offices were also included in the new building. 

When the church was completed, our congregation listed 237 members, some who were “unto the fifth generation” from the charter church membership.

In 2003, an addition was completed to our 1952 building to meet the needs of our entire Congregation. An elevator was installed to provide easy access to all church levels. Also included were offices, the Garden Meeting Room, and handicap accessible restrooms.

Our 2,454 square foot addition cost $375,000 and was designed to make future expansion easier.

A memorial garden was added in 2011 just outside the Garden Room to provide members and their families, who choose to be cremated, the opportunity to place their ashes in the garden. Their names are placed on a bronze plaque in the memorial garden.

In 2017, after careful study of our present and future ministries, the congregation decided that our existing space was in desperate need of updating. With the help of our architect, a new addition was designed focusing on children and youth, fellowship, music and gatherings. The groundbreaking was held on April 22, 2019.

Drawing inspiration from our second church (1883), this addition is a wooden framed structure with white siding and distinctive crosses in windows and eaves. During the building process, our members left their signatures, thoughts, and scripture on the framework behind the sheetrock. 

This new addition is 7,406 square feet and cost $1.75 million. It was completed in March of 2020, but not dedicated until September 18, 2022 (due to the COVID Pandemic). It features

• A prominent main entry from the parking area

• Increased parking spaces

• A covered drop off area

• An enlarged lobby and gathering space

• Seating for 222 in our new flexible Fellowship Hall

• Ground level access to the Fellowship Hall, nursery, and elevator 

• A new well-appointed kitchen

• An inviting nursery and classroom for children

• An indoor play area

• Up-to-date media tools for ministry

• New restrooms

• Spaces designed to serve as an emergency shelter for the community