First Presbyterian Church (Charlotte, North Carolina)
N 35° 13.733 W 080° 50.633
17S E 514206 N 3898436
First Presbyterian Church was built in 1857 and added to the NRHP in 1982 located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Waymark Code: WM18TFR
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2023
Views: 0
The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, W. Trade St. between N. Church and Poplar Its., rebuilt in 1894, is a stuccoed brick building of Norman-Gothic design. Its spire rises above old trees shading a broad yard in the midst of business structures. The McAden memorial windows, on the left of the front entrance, is by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. In 1815, when this block was set aside for the church, the first structure served all denominations, though Presybterians predominated. In 1832 this group paid a small debt and took over the church. During Reconstruction meetings of the Ku Klux Klan were held in the basement, many of Charlotte's first citizens being members. Within two years the group came to believe that the organization was getting out of hand and they resigned. Thereafter meetings were no longer held in the church.
The OLD CEMETERY, lying at the rear of the church and fronting on West 5th St., served the town as a common burying ground until about 1854 and was used for interments by the Presbyterians until 1870. Among the outstanding citizens buried here are Nathaniel Alexander, Governor of North Carolina (1805-1807), Col Thomas Polk, and Get. George Graham. Many of the headstones are crumbling from age.
American Guide Series