Westminster Presbyterian Church: From log cabin to architectural masterpiece over 225 years

Westminster Presbyterian Church has endured now for 225 years. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

Westminster Presbyterian Church has endured now for 225 years. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton has endured for 225 years.

In honor of the milestone, we wanted to take a look back at the origins of Dayton’s first church and how it evolved through the years.

In the beginning

It all started when First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1799. A year later, a rustic log cabin was built, and regular church meetings began. Today’s Westminster is a descendant of that first church.

The beginnings of the congregation are unclear.

It all started when First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1799. A year later, a rustic log cabin built and regular church meeting began. JOURNAL HERALD ARCHIVES

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A 1949 Dayton Journal Herald article indicated that William Robinson, a member of the Transylvania Presbytery, came to the Dayton settlement as early as 1798 with authority to organize a church.

The Westminster website however, has a page that say it was organized by the Washington Presbytery of the Synod of Kentucky.

Rev. James Kemper appears to have been the first pastor, though not a permanent one.

The cabin was not ideal in cold weather, so plans were quickly made for a new meeting place.

A new meeting place

County commissioners were trying to raise funds for a new courthouse. The congregation sold the cabin site, and with other funds totaling about $434, they lent the money to the commissioners to go towards building the courthouse with the agreement that they could use the space once completed.

In the meantime, the church met in Colonel Newcom’s tavern, which is still preserved in Carillon Historical Park.

White oak and wrought nails are being used for the restoration of siding on Newcom Tavern.  The building was originally covered with wood siding which was removed to display the log construction of the building..  TY GREENLEES / STAFF.

Credit: Ty Greenlees

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Credit: Ty Greenlees

The members then worshipped in the courthouse from 1805 to 1817.

Next was a new two-story meeting house that was constructed at Second and Ludlow streets for $6,961.

As the congregation grew, more space was needed. Less than 20 years later, the meeting house was torn down, and larger quarters were built in is place, facing Second Street. This one lasted 27 years.

A church divided, then reunited

Because of a dispute regarding slavery, the church split in 1838. Part of the congregation formed Third Street Presbyterian Church. In 1919, the two churches were reunited. The recombined church chose the name Westminster Church.

The name Westminster was chosen because it had been closely associated with the history of the Presbyterian church for more than two and a half centuries.

Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton has endured now for 225 years. Church officials paid off and burned their mortgage in 1936. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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At the time of the merger, the Third Street Church had 630 members, and the First Presbyterian Church had 516. Thierty years later, in 1949, it had 2,694 members, making it the second-largest church in Ohio, exceeded only by Fairmont church in Cleveland.

Today’s building

While a new church was being built, services were held in Memorial Hall, the NCR schoolhouse and the YWCA over two years.

The building the church occupies today was built from 1924 to 1926 in a neo-gothic style by architect Ralph Adams Cram. It is located on West First street between Wilkinson and Perry streets. The architectural masterpiece was ready for occupancy on Sept. 12, 1926.

The sanctuary of the Westminster Presbyterian Church (built 1925, dedicated 1926) on the corner of First and Wilkinson Streets in downtown Dayton. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

Credit: Tom Gilliam

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Credit: Tom Gilliam

A dedication ceremony was held on Oct. 24, 1926. Presiding over the ceremony was Pastor Hugh Ivan Evans.

Pastor Hugh Ivan Evans presided over a dedication ceremony for Westminster Presbyterian Church on Oct. 24, 1926. DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARCHIVES

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