Based on an excerpt from "Churches of St. Andrew:"
First Presbyterian Church
Organized: 1821
This church was formed at Mayhew Mission May 8, 1821 and moved to Starkville in 1834. The name was changed to Starkville Presbyterian Church on April 7, 1843. The Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury was pastor of the Mayhew Mission Church but, upon the move to Starkville, Rev. Duncan Campbell became pastor in 1834. First Presbyterian Church of Starkville has been a member of Tombigbee, East Mississippi and St. Andrew Presbyteries. The first session records were lost in a member's house fire. However, very early session minutes have been microfilmed and sent to Montreat and placed in the Mississippi State University Library.
During the ministry of the Rev. Fred Zollicopher Browne (1911-1918) three Starkville Presbyterian congregations united, First Presbyterian Church ("Old School"), the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (organized in 1836 and Merged with the United Presbyterian Church in 1891), and the Starkville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized in 1873.
The congregation met in the home of Mr. Caldwell and the Court House until the "Brick Church" was completed in 1837. A second building was built in 1853, at the present location, and on October 19, 1924, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. It was completed in 1926 and dedicated on May 22, 1938 with a special Dedicatory Service during the pastorate of the Rev. J. Chester Frist.
In 1972 the Session of the First Presbyterian Church appointed a committee to study the need for another church. A meeting for all persons interested in becoming members was held September 10, 1972. Fifty adults and thirty children expressed a desire to form a new church. Thus, Trinity Presbyterian Church on Hospital Road was founded.
In 2015, there was a schism within the congregation over positions taken by the PC(USA). The result was a split with the majority of the congregation, for various reasons, eventually affiliating with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church while we remained with the PC(USA). In 2020, First Presbyterian Church PC(USA) Starkville accepted the PC(USA) invitation to become a Matthew 25 Church and focus on building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty.
Recognizing the possible confusion resulting from having two congregations with the same name in the same town, we changed our name to Starkville Presbyterian Church, PC(USA) in 2021. This name come from our history as noted above. In late 2020, we also purchased property at 280 Linden Circle in Starkville and made it our new home.
Organized: 1821
This church was formed at Mayhew Mission May 8, 1821 and moved to Starkville in 1834. The name was changed to Starkville Presbyterian Church on April 7, 1843. The Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury was pastor of the Mayhew Mission Church but, upon the move to Starkville, Rev. Duncan Campbell became pastor in 1834. First Presbyterian Church of Starkville has been a member of Tombigbee, East Mississippi and St. Andrew Presbyteries. The first session records were lost in a member's house fire. However, very early session minutes have been microfilmed and sent to Montreat and placed in the Mississippi State University Library.
During the ministry of the Rev. Fred Zollicopher Browne (1911-1918) three Starkville Presbyterian congregations united, First Presbyterian Church ("Old School"), the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (organized in 1836 and Merged with the United Presbyterian Church in 1891), and the Starkville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized in 1873.
The congregation met in the home of Mr. Caldwell and the Court House until the "Brick Church" was completed in 1837. A second building was built in 1853, at the present location, and on October 19, 1924, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. It was completed in 1926 and dedicated on May 22, 1938 with a special Dedicatory Service during the pastorate of the Rev. J. Chester Frist.
In 1972 the Session of the First Presbyterian Church appointed a committee to study the need for another church. A meeting for all persons interested in becoming members was held September 10, 1972. Fifty adults and thirty children expressed a desire to form a new church. Thus, Trinity Presbyterian Church on Hospital Road was founded.
In 2015, there was a schism within the congregation over positions taken by the PC(USA). The result was a split with the majority of the congregation, for various reasons, eventually affiliating with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church while we remained with the PC(USA). In 2020, First Presbyterian Church PC(USA) Starkville accepted the PC(USA) invitation to become a Matthew 25 Church and focus on building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty.
Recognizing the possible confusion resulting from having two congregations with the same name in the same town, we changed our name to Starkville Presbyterian Church, PC(USA) in 2021. This name come from our history as noted above. In late 2020, we also purchased property at 280 Linden Circle in Starkville and made it our new home.
