Our History
"Its first name was Bethel..." so began the Reverend A. B. Fields in his centennial sermon of 1876. The congregation known today as the Presbyterian Church of Brookville traces its formal beginning to 1824. However, Presbyterian clergy were baptizing, marrying, preaching, and burying in Jefferson County more than a decade earlier.
Meeting first in homes, then in a log schoolhouse near the Old Jefferson Cemetery on Route 23 and in a log church where Route 322 enters Union Township, the congregation moved into the county seat and a new building on the corner of Main and White Streets in 1842. Scot-Irish descendants continued to move into the area, encouraged by timber prospects, and the congregation grew.
Following the Civil War but before the Depression of 1873, the congregation built a new building on the same location. Sermons were described as "strong, doctrinal, and yet with a tenderness of pleading that touched the hearts", and preachers as "effective" or "evangelistic". In 1884 Paul Darling's bequest made possible the construction of the French Second Empire manse adjacent to the present building (1905).
During the next century, the congregation witnessed two world wars, the Great Depression, the completion of Interstate 80, the rapid expansion of computer technology, and continued to flourish. They dedicated a new Christian Education Building (1951) and kept abreast of new challenges in Christian Education. Today, the congregation of 450 members continues to examine its roles and responsibilities as part of Christ's church worldwide by offering a wide variety of programs and activities for people of all ages.
Meeting first in homes, then in a log schoolhouse near the Old Jefferson Cemetery on Route 23 and in a log church where Route 322 enters Union Township, the congregation moved into the county seat and a new building on the corner of Main and White Streets in 1842. Scot-Irish descendants continued to move into the area, encouraged by timber prospects, and the congregation grew.
Following the Civil War but before the Depression of 1873, the congregation built a new building on the same location. Sermons were described as "strong, doctrinal, and yet with a tenderness of pleading that touched the hearts", and preachers as "effective" or "evangelistic". In 1884 Paul Darling's bequest made possible the construction of the French Second Empire manse adjacent to the present building (1905).
During the next century, the congregation witnessed two world wars, the Great Depression, the completion of Interstate 80, the rapid expansion of computer technology, and continued to flourish. They dedicated a new Christian Education Building (1951) and kept abreast of new challenges in Christian Education. Today, the congregation of 450 members continues to examine its roles and responsibilities as part of Christ's church worldwide by offering a wide variety of programs and activities for people of all ages.
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Original Church Building - 1841
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Church Building 1870-1904
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Church Building 1905- present
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