The First Presbyterian Church of Jackson was organized June 12, 1836 by a committee from the Presbytery of Athens, Ohio that met in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Asa Isham on the southwest corner of Church and Court Streets. 

     The first church building was erected two years later, on property donated by Mrs. Isham, at the rear of the lot where the present church is located.  It was a one room, 25 x 45, brick building with white double doors in the front and a window on each side of the entrance.  The pulpit was at the far end of the interior so the minister faced the entrance, with the choir on his left and the Elders on his right.  However, it was to be another 34 years before a regular full-time paster was installed, in 1872, following the Civil War.

     The original structure was torn down in 1887 and the present building was erected.  The congregation grew slowly.  In 1918, the German Lutheran Congregation decided to unite with the Presbyterians.  By 1932, when the Welsh-Presbyterians of Jackson merged with the First Presbyterian Church, the congregation had grown to almost 600, with 300 in the Sunday School.  In April 1941, the reported membership reached an all time high of 622!

     The pipe organ, still in use every Sunday, was presented to the church in 1941, and the stained glass windows were replaced in the sanctuary as memorials in 1975.

     Looking back over the years, we see three things that were used in the old church that are still in use today - the church bell, the old clock and the pulpit in the Sunday School room.

     The manse, on nearby Pearl Street, was completed for occupancy in 1951.

                                                                      -from notes by Vernon McNair