History - Franklin Presbyterian Church

History of the Franklin Presbyterian Church

The Pendleton Presbyterian Church was organized on August 19, 1866 by a commission of Lexington Presbytery in an old log church located ½ mile south of Upper Tract. There were 15 charter members. Although a number of people with a Presbyterian background lived in the area in the 18th century, the scarcity of Presbyterian clergy made organization of a church impossible until this time.

For many years, Presbyterian worship services had been held in the old Union Church on High Street in Franklin. The first Presbyterian church building in Franklin was erected in 1876, and stood on the corner of Walnut and High Streets in the present yard of the Walnut Street United Methodist Church.

In 1906, two other Presbyterian churches, Upper Tract and Ruddle, were organized in the South Branch Valley, and the name of the original church was changed to the Franklin Presbyterian Church. The three churches are yoked congregations served by the same pastor.

The present church building was designed by noted architect Stanhope Johnson of Lexington, VA after a church near London,

England

. It was constructed across Walnut Street from the then-current building on the former site of a tanyard. Bricks for the building were made at a kiln located near the current site of Pendleton County High School. Construction of the building began in 1918, but was slowed due to the influenza epidemic, which struck many able-bodied men. The building was completed in 1922. As the new building remained unfurnished and unheated, the congregation continued to worship in the old building. The devastating Franklin fire of 1924 destroyed the county courthouse, and the old church building was sold to the county for use as a courthouse. Proceeds from the sale were used to furnish the new building, and the congregation moved to the new structure in 1924. A manse was built around the same time as the church building, and was replaced by a new, brick, all-electric, ranch-style home in early 1966. The manse contains 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen, with a full, finished basement housing a family room, laundry room, office/study, and storage area.

Within the last 10 years, the church building has been refurbished by replacing the original roof with a slate roof, addition of a handicap ramp and terrace to the front of the church, enlarging the pastor's study, adding restrooms to the main floor of the church and enlarging the restrooms in the basement, addition of a new heating/air conditioning system, placement of new flooring in the vestibule and kitchen, and addition of new counter tops in the kitchen. Work continues to make the church building more accessible and user-friendly for the congregation and the community.
Thirty-two men have served as pastor to the congregation in either a full-time, supply, or interim relationship since 1866:

Thomas D. Bell 1866-1873
J. Rice Bowman 1866-1873
Robert H. Fleming 1874-1876
John A. Preston 1876-1883
Lamartine H. Paul 1884-1888
L. W. Irwin (student) 1888-1890
William C. Hogan 1890-1893
F. J. Brooke (supply) 1894
J. Spencer Smith 1895-1901
Ivanhoe Robertson 1902-1904
Samuel S. Oliver 1905-1908
Clarence R. Lacy 1910-1919
Albert P. Dickson 1919-1924
Roy Smith 1925-1927
Leslie H. Patterson 1927-1936
Delemo L. Beard 1936-1943
Jesse W. Myers 1943-1945
Delemo L. Beard 1946-1947
John E. Thompson 1948-1949
James M. McDaniel 1950-1956
Jonathan Edwards 1957-1962
J. Wilson Rowe, Jr. 1963-1970
George L. Oehler 1972-1976
Donald S. Wilkinson 1977-1985
James M. Hovland 1986-1991
Charles K. Reller (interim)1991-1992
Terry Mosholder 1992-1993
Charles K. Reller 1993-1994
Richard O. Young (interim) 1995-1996
Brian D. Weger 1996-2000
Mark Fisher (supply) 2001
Richard O. Young (interim) 2002-2003
William G. Everhart (supply) 2003

Richard O. Young (interim) 2004
Kenneth P. Haines (supply) 2004-2005

Kevin L. Hand 2005-