First Presbyterian Church (Macon, Georgia)
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First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
in
Macon, GA Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...
.


History

The place was frequently visited by Mr. Joseph C. Stiles, a licentiate and Evangelist of Hopewell Presbytery, who took it in as a part of his field. As the fruit of his ministry a church was organized June 18, 1826, of twenty five members, by Rev. Benjamin Gildersleeve, First Presbyterian Church was born on June 18, 1826, just three years after the city of Macon was chartered. The church continued to be a part of the Evangelistic field of Mr. Stiles, till 1828, when Rev. James C. Patterson became the regular supply for two years till the Fall of 1830. During Mr. Patterson's ministry the first building, a wooden structure, was erected on Fourth street. This building was turned over to the Baptists, who removed and enlarged it; and is now the Second Baptist church. The Rev. Edwin Holt was the first regular pastor, installed November 20, 1831, and served the church from 1831 to 1834, when the relation was dissolved by the Presbytery of Good Hope and he dismissed to the Presbytery of Newburyport July 27, 1836. He was followed by Rev. James Stratton, as supply, for two years. He was never settled. His name was stricken from the roll March 29, 1843, he "having joined another church." He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel J. Cassels, who was installed November 5, 1836 and continued till April 13, 1842. It was during the ministry of Rev. Mr. Cassels, that the second house, a brick building commenced during the ministry of Mr. Stratton, was completed. Since 1858, when the present structure was completed, its spire, soaring 183 feet above the street, has dominated the downtown section of Mulberry Street. It is the 6th tallest building in Macon, at 185 feet(56 m). It was the tallest building in Macon from its completion in 1858 until the completion of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1972. It is located on 690 Mulberry Street, in Downtown Macon. The famous poet
Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
was a member here. Today, the congregation has more than 1000 members.


School

In 1970, the church founded
First Presbyterian Day School First Presbyterian Day School (FPD) is a private, college-preparatory Christian day school in Macon, Georgia, United States. FPD was founded in 1970 by Macon's First Presbyterian Church and has been described at the time of its founding as a s ...
. The church founded the school the same year that a judge ordered Bibb County public schools to
desegregate Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...
. The campus was located in a mostly white suburban area, some distance away from the church's headquarters in a black neighborhood downtown. These factors have led the historian Andrew Manis to conclude that the school was a
segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend Racial segregation in the United States, desegregated public schools. They ...
established to allow white parents to avoid sending their children to racially integrated public schools. First Presbyterian Church is a member congregation of the
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...
.


References


NRHP Listings in Bibb County, Georgia.
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External links


Official site
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Romanesque Revival church buildings in Georgia (U.S. state) Churches completed in 1858 Churches in Macon, Georgia Presbyterian Church in America churches in Georgia Historic American Buildings Survey in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Bibb County, Georgia