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Church History |
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Church History |
For more than 40 years, Arkport Presbyterians traveled to the towns of Almond, Dansville, and Hornell for worship. On December 16, 1851 the first building was constructed and dedicated. Five days later fire consumed the building to the ground. However, immediate steps were taken to raise funds for another building. The congregation became formally organized as the First Presbyterian Church of Arkport on March 13, 1852 and accepted into the Angelica Presbytery on June 8, 1852. Six months after the fire, a simple square building of Early American architecture was completed and dedicated on July 15, 1852. It consisted of a square steeple and had large pillars on the front. The inside offered a vestibule, balcony, and an auditorium. In 1879, a bequest of $250 provided a bell which now hangs in the present belfry. In July 1902, the church celebrated its semi centennial. In 1913, after great consideration and with much controversy, it was voted to raze the wooden church in favor of our present brick structure. The most outstanding feature was the beautiful stained glass windows.
In 1952, the church celebrated its 100th anniversary with week long activities. Since that time, the church building has undergone several face lifts. In 1969, the church purchased the adjacent south lot, on which a house and garage stood. The house was used for many activities, but mainly used for Sunday School classrooms. In 1979, the church outgrew the need of the house and it was razed to parking and landscaping. In 1996, a construction project modernized the Fellowship Hall and renovated the bathrooms to be handicap accessible. Shortly afterward, the three-car garage that stood on the premises was remodeled into a Community building dubbed "The Mission Hall" that is used by the congregation as well as by many organizations in our village.
We look forward to other projects and the year of our sesquicentennial celebrations in 2002. Without God and the dedication of so many of God's people throughout history, we could not have had the opportunity to unite in the universal calling. For Jesus said, "on this rock I will build my church." Matthew 16:18
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