Church History
Heritage Museum
As part of our 100th Anniversary celebration, the Heritage Museum was founded in 1991 to preserve the rich heritage of First Presbyterian Church of La Grange. As the original committee so poignantly expressed: “History matters. A church that forgets its past, loses its future.”
In 2014 the museum was closed and dismantled due to water damage. In the fall of 2019, it was decided to bring the museum “back to life.” In January 2021, Session approved the allocation of capital funds for the remodeling and renovation of space across the hall from its original location. On Sunday, October 23, 2022, we celebrated the Grand Re-Opening of the museum in observance of FPCLG's 132nd anniversary on October 27.
If you would like to support the Heritage Museum Restoration Project through donations or memorials, please visit our Online Giving page to make your pledge.
The following church history was compiled from Session notes and recollections of many of our members. We are indebted to those who kept our history alive.
The First Presbyterians in America…
It is hard to say when the first Presbyterian congregation was founded in America. It may have been as early as 1672. In the late 1600s, economic problems and religious persecution prompted many Scotch-Irish to migrate to America, and most settled in the Middle Colonies. They were joined by those migrating from Puritan New England. Soon there were enough Presbyterians in America to organize congregations.
1683 Photo of First Presbyterian Church in America
The first ministers were recruited from Northern Ireland, including Francis Makemie who is known as the “Father of American Presbyterianism.” Rev. Makemie came to the colonies in 1683 to serve as the minister of a congregation formed on Colonel Stevens’ plantation, Rehoboth, in Coventry Parish, Maryland, on the banks of the Pocomoke River. Rev. Makemie built the first Presbyterian church in 1706 on land near the river which is now known as Pocomoke City, Maryland.
During these days, we find the first signs of inter-congregational structure based on John Calvin’s beliefs that the “church is a community or body in which Christ only is head and all members are equal under him.” Along with six other ministers, Reverend Makemie organized the first Presbytery in America in Philadelphia in 1706, and in 1709, the first synod (Association of Presbyteries), the Synod of Philadelphia, was formed.
In 1789 the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the USA was held in Philadelphia. The assembly adopted the standards of the church that have remained through the years; and with some modification, as the foundational expression of Presbyterian faith and policy, these standards were adopted by the reunited Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1983.
We invite you to continue reading through the sections below to learn about the founding, growth and life of First Presbyterian Church of La Grange.
The Presbyterian Faith Comes to La Grange
The Building of our First and Second Churches
The Educational Wing—“If You Build It, They Will Come”
The Building of our Current Church
Our 100th Anniversary / The 21st Century Dawns
“Inviting People into a Life of Meaning and Purpose in Christ” / And Then the Pandemic…