The Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, on Bull Street in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, is the first

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, founded in 1755. Land for its first building was deeded by King

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

for use by colonial adherents of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. The first building burned down in 1796, and another, modeled after St. Martin in the Fields, was built in 1800. This building burned down on April 6, 1889,''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of Old Savannah''
p. 366 and a reproduction was completed in 1891. "The present building is so much like the old one, as seen from the outside, that if I had been awakened out of a Rip Van Winkle sleep of nearly thirty-five years, it would be a hard matter to make be believe that the present structure is not the identical building that stood there when I was a boy," wrote historian Charles Seton Henry Hardie, who moved to Savannah in 1835. "The present steeple is the exact counterpart of the old one, but is of iron instead of wood."''Charles Seton Henry Hardee's Recollections of Old Savannah''
p. 367 The current minister is Terry Johnson, who is a minister in 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 ...

. It is included in the Savannah Historic District.

References

External links

Official websiteStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Independent Presbyterian Church (Savannah, Ga.) records, 1800-1960
Presbyterian churches in Georgia (U.S. state) Churches in Savannah, Georgia Chippewa Square (Savannah, Georgia) buildings Savannah Historic District {{GeorgiaUS-Presbyterian-church-stub

References

Further reading

External links