First Presbyterian Church

About this property

First Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 601 Church Street in Sweetwater, Tennessee, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The congregation was formed in 1860, and the current church building was completed in 1888. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 for its historical role and as an example of Gothic Revival architecture. === Old School Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater (1860–1866) === In April 1860, 17 residents of Sweetwater petitioned the Presbytery of Knoxville to organize a church, and on May 4, 1860, the Old School Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater was founded. However, the church was forced to suspend operations after several years due to the American Civil War, and there are no church records from the period between November 4, 1862, and October 6, 1866. After the Civil War, the Old School Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater merged with the older New School Church to form the First Presbyterian Church. Organized on June 4, 1848, the New School Church was founded with the help of Thomas Brown, a minister of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Kingston, Tennessee. Born in Virginia and trained as a blacksmith, Brown attended Maryville College before becoming ordained and preaching throughout the region. The New School Church building was constructed from 1857 to late 1858 or early 1859 and was located on the corner of Walnut Street and Heiskell Street. The building remained in use for Sunday School classes until 1872. === Reorganization and Construction of the Current Building (1866–1888) === As a result of the Old School–New School controversy within the Presbyterian Church, two Presbyterian churches served the Sweetwater community starting in the year 1860. The New School movement supported revivals, while the Old School was more conservative and placed more emphasis on seminary education for ministers. On October 5, 1866, the two Presbyterian churches in Sweetwater—The Old School Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater and The New School Church—merged, with 29 members for the merger and 1 against. By 1887, church membership had increased to 93, and funds were raised for a new building. The current structure was completed on June 2, 1888; a brick sanctuary with stained glass windows and bell tower with a pitched roof. The pitched bell tower roof has since been removed. In 1917, a two-story addition was built behind the sanctuary with overflow seating and classrooms based on the Akron Plan. An additional classroom building was constructed in 1968. On April 5, 1976, a day care center was established in the church educational building. As of 2025, the First Presbyterian Preschool enrolls around 40 children from the Sweetwater area.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

More in Monroe County

Historic places, battles, and census history across Monroe County.

More historic places in Tennessee

Browse all historic places in Tennessee.

Conflict records

Explore 19,000+ military engagements across American history.

Tennessee history

Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.