Reverend: John P. Wilson
Secretary: Becky Shultz

Contact Information
Phone: (620) 331-0241
E-mail: indypres@sbcglobal.net

Visit us at
http://www.indykansas.com

Address
First Presbyterian Church
201 S 5th St
Independence, KS 67301


Sunday School / Worship Times
9:00 am / 10 am
Normal Business Hours
9 am - 12:00 & 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Friday until noon

 

Independence, Kansas was established in 1869 right after the Civil War. Just a few months later (April 2, 1870), the First Presbyterian Church was organized with two elders and nine charter members. For two years the Presbyterians worshiped in the Baptist Church, but by 1872 the membership had grown enough to build a church. The bricks were brought from St. Louis and our first church home was erectd on North Fifth Street across from the Court House. A bell was purchased, carpet installed, and an organ procured. By 1902 our congregation had outgrown this first little church and a new larger brick buidiing was dedicated on the corner of Fifth and Main. After a disastrous fire the building was remodeled and rededicated in 1918--just in time to serve as a hospital in the flu epidemic. In 1924 Dr. John Luke Gehman came to serve as pastor. He spearheaded the drive for funds and by 1928 the cornerstone was laid for our grey stone Gothic church with elegant oak, exquisite stain glass windows, and an organ boasted at that time as the largest this side of the Mississippi. Modeled after Melrose Abby in Scotland, the church became a significant landmark. Pledges were made, plans progressed, and members joyfully marched to the new church home at Fifth and Maple Streets in 1929--just a few months before the Crash and the Depression! Banks closed, businesses moved, and pledges were impossible to keep. For over ten years the church struggled to prevent foreclosure, but finally on April 4, 1945, the debt was paid and the mortgage burned. Through two depressions, two world wars, good years and bad, First Presbyterian church has thankfully served the community.