In 1820, under the leadership of Dr. Moses Waddel, President of the University of Georgia, the Presbyterians in Athens, Georgia were organized into a congregation on Christmas Day. This area was then in Hopewell Presbytery, Synod of South Carolina. The original church building was located at the main entrance to the University campus on Broad St. It was erected in 1828.
The present building was erected in 1855-56. The lot (No. 30, Mitchell Survey) was purchased in 1854. The cost of the building was $10,000 and the builder was Ross Crane. It was extensively remodeled both in 1906 and 1965, when the educational wing was added. Several pews (deacon's benches) from the original building are still in use, though considered treasures, in various rooms and offices. The pews in the present sanctuary were made from lumber on the John White plantation. They varied in length to accomodate the families of the original occupants. The Tinsley-Stern Youth Building was acquired in 1992.
Memorial tablets found in the narthex
The Reverend Moses Waddel, D.D., 1820 - 1830
The Reverend Nathan Hoyt, D.D., 1830 - 1866
The Reverend Charles Whitmarsh Lane, D.D., 1873 - 1896
The Reverend Julius W. Walden, D.D., 1896 - 1906
The Reverend Eugene L. Hill, D.D., 1907 - 1949
The Reverend Harmon B. Ramsey, D.D., 1950 - 1961
The Reverend Willam A. Adams, D.D., 1962 - 1973
Subsequent pastors
The Reverend Charles R. Hasty, D.Min., 1973 - 1994
The Reverend W. Glenn Doak, Jr., D.Min., 1996 - present
The Bell
The church bell, said to be an almost duplicate of the Liberty Bell, was originally installed in a steeple. Unfortunately, this steeple became structurally unsound by the turn of the century and was removed in the 1906 renovation. The bell was then housed in the ground level passageway under the outside steps. In 1970, it was relocated in a prominent place near the sidewalk entrance on Hancock Avenue. It is said to have 100 silver dollars cast in the bell to give it a clear tone.
The membership has increased from 18 in 1820, to 286 in 1870, to 549 in 1910, to 1100+ in 1996, and to over 1200 in 2000. It is a leading Presbyterian influence in Athens and surrounding communities.
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