(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Churches - Page Five - Presbyterian Church
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The
Alderson
Presbyterian
Church
was
organized
November
25,
1876.
Actually,
the
church
was
in
existence
two
years
before
it
was
formally
organized,
and
Presbyterians
were
holding
meetings
as
early
as
1872.
There
lived
in
Alderson
in
the
1870’s
and
80’s,
William
Boa,
a
Canadian,
who,
with
Clark
Howell,
operated
a
planning
mill
and
sawmill
on
the
river
above
the
present
water
works.
Boa
was
a
civic,
religious
and
business
leader.
Probably,
he
was
the
leader
in
the
establishment
of
the
Presbyterian
Church.
His
parents
were
pious
Presbyterians,
his
father
an
elder.
Boa
was
also
a
Mason
and
in
1872
belonged
to
no
church.
Someone
suggested
the
Masons
and
the
Presbyterians
build
a
two
story
hall
to
house
both
the
church
and
the
lodge.
Boa
did
not
like
this
plan
as
he
thought
the
Presbyterians
and
the
Masons
would
disagree
and
he
opposed
a
two
story
building
as
not
fitting
for
a
church.
But
Boa
was
not
a
man
to
oppose
the
majority
and
in
1872
subscription
papers
were
circulated.
In
1874
they
had
$600.00
and
in
a
mass
meeting
William
G.
Miller,
W.
N.
Jordan
and
William
Boa
were
elected
members
of
a
building
committee.
Plans
were
designed
and
Patrick
H.
Hawkins
began
building
the
first
Presbyterian
Church
in
Alderson.
Boa
and
Howell
furnished
the
materials.
Before
then,
between
1872-74,
the
Presbyterians
met
in
a
temporary
building.
Rev.
W.
L.
Lynch
of
the
Methodist
Church
conducted
services
and
occasionally
visiting
Presbyterian
ministers
preached
to
the
group.
During
the
summer
of
1874
the
new
building
was
enclosed
and
temporary
benches
installed.
In
1874
a
young
Virginian,
the
Reverend
Paul
F.
Brown,
was
minister
and
served
until
1876.
(One
history
of
the
church
shows
Jacob
D.
Lewis
also
was
minister
during
this
period.)
In
1876,
the
Rev.
H.
R.
Laird
became
pastor
and
he
also
operated
a
school.
The
first
Presbyterian
Church
building
was
on
the
site
of
the
present fine church.
The
first
members
of
the
Presbyterian
Church
when
it
was
organized
are
not
completely
known,
but
a
report
in
1877
made
by
the
Greenbrier
Presbytery
said
there
were
eleven
members
and
one
Ruling
Elder.
Some
of
the
charter
members
were:
William
Boa,
Mrs.
William
Boa,
Mrs.
Rebecca
(M.
L.)
Harwood,
Thomas
Johnson,
Dr.
William
Irons,
Mrs.
H.
R.
Laird,
Mrs.
Elizabeth
(J
.
G.)
Alderson,
Mrs.
Lillie
(Joseph
N.)
Putney
Alderson
and
Mrs.
Virginia
Stevens
(George)
Alderson.
It
was
the
subject
of
amusement
in
the
Alderson
family
that
the
three
Alderson
Presbyterian
wives
had
husbands who were Baptists. Mrs. Florence Hodges (J. M.) Alderson was the organist. Her husband was a Baptist.
The
Union
Sunday
School
mentioned
elsewhere
was
held
in
the
new
Presbyterian
Church.
In
1879
a
Presbyterian
Sunday
School
was
organized.
James Mann was superintendent, William Boa, assistant and William V. Irons, secretary-treasurer.
The
church
has
had
few
pastors.
H.
R.
Laird
served
until
1883;
J.
H.
Lewis
1884-85;
E.
D.
Jeffries
1885-95;
J.
M.
Sloan
1895-1915;
J.
L.
Lineweaver
1916-18;
J.
E.
Flow,
1918-22;
Paul
Nickell,
1923-28;
Dupuy
Holliday,
1929-1948;
William
Garda,
1949-1954;
William
Peters,
1954-1959;
William
O.
Smith 1960-63 and Elwin H. Roberts, the present pastor, who came in 1963.
The
old
frame
church
needed
to
be
replaced
in
1910.
In
May,
1913,
a
committee
was
named
to
raise
funds
for
a
new
church.
On
March
20,
1921,
the
Building
Committee
had
cash
and
pledges
of
$19,247.00
but
it
was
not
until
November
22,
1925
that
a
definite
decision
was
made
to
build,
and
another
fund-raising
campaign
was
started.
Plans
were
studied
and
it
was
decided
to
let
a
contract.
Several
years
before,
Mrs.
Elizabeth
N.
Mann
had
provided money to buy the Masons’ interest in the church property.
Among
the
industrious
fund——raisers
was
Miss
Lillie
Rowe,
now
a
retired
registered
nurse
in
Alderson,
who
took
as
her
official
project
the
raising
of
money for a pipe organ. She compiled a cook-book and baked innumerable cakes.
The
cornerstone
of
the
new
church
was
laid
November
4,
1926,
by
Dr.
C.
F.
Mahood,
acting
for
the
Masons.
It
is
built of native sandstone from Muddy Creek Mountain. The church cost about $45,000.00.
On
July
10,
1927
the
church
was
dedicated
and
a
dedicatory
sermon
was
delivered
by
Dr.
Carey
Johnson
of
Union
Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va. On February 4, 1933, the last indebtedness was paid.
The
manse,
a
modern
brick
home,
was
constructed
in
1957
on
Wickham
Street,
immediately
to
the
rear
of
the
Post
Office.
The
present
church
membership is 157.
Ref: 75th Anniversary Booklet. The Presbyterian Church, Alderson. Papers of J. N. Alderson
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
