FCC Princeton History

The Princeton First Christian Church had its beginning in 1829 when two evangelists held a series of meetings. The names of the preachers were Lindsey and Davenport. The first convert was W. D. Calloway. He and others met regularly at the residence of Mrs. Rachel Barnard for worship and communion. The cholera epidemic of 1834 decimated the small congregation.

In 1838 a Mr. Ely and Mr. Anderson were conducting a meeting in Eddyville and Mrs. Calloway attended the meeting. She invited the evangelists to come hold a meeting in Princeton. They came to the community but were denied a place to preach. They started preaching on the street corner until the local tavern/hotel owner invited them to come to the tavern to preach. This put the county officials in an embarrassing position so they relented and offered the use of the Courthouse. This meeting was quite fruitful as there were many converts.

The new congregation continued meeting in homes each week. They reached a point where they needed a church building. Mr. Tinsley, the sheriff of the county, donated a building site. The church construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1859. The church was a three-story building. Alexander Campbell, Disciple founder, visiting in Hopkinsville was urged to come to Princeton, which he did and preached two messages in this new building. His presence gave the church much prestige and there were many conversions as a result.

During the Civil War the church was used as a temporary hospital. As long as the building stood there was evidence of this usage. In 1897 a spark from the laundry next door set fire to the building and it was completely destroyed. The congregation voted to rebuild the church and it was erected on the old foundation and dedicated in 1899.

In 1972 the congregation voted to build the present new church building. It was dedicated on March 24, 1974. The old stained glass windows in the former building were incorporated in the new building with one installed overlooking the baptistry. The former building is now used as the Tourist and Convention Center-City Hall.

Source: The People of the Table -Christian Church in KY., 2008