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Staff
Carol Stewart
Samuel Rodriguez
Carol Stewart
Administrative Assistant
Gail Croft
Samuel Rodriguez
Carol Stewart
Bookkeeper
Samuel Rodriguez
Samuel Rodriguez
Samuel Rodriguez
Music Director
About FPC Gallatin
History of First Presbyterian Church of Gallatin, Tennessee
The Presbyterian Church in Gallatin was organized on October 25, 1828, and the present Sanctuary was built in 1836-37 on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Boyers, who were charter members of the Church. Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Boyers may be seen in the Church Parlor.
The Sanctuary at that time was a rectangular structure with ten gothic windows of clear glass panes, and example of early Greek Revival architecture. the two exit doors were from the interior on to a porch and thence down the steps to the street. There was a gallery at the rear between the two doors and this was used for seating "Colored Communicants." It is thought that entry to this gallery was from the porch outside. Later on, this gallery was used as a choir loft. The pews were very severe - long, narrow, and hard. A few of these may be seen in the downstairs hall.
During the Civil War the Chruch was used as a field hospital by both confederate and Federal armies. Members were invited to use the Methodist building for their worship services.
About 1896 a major building change was made. The slave gallery and choir loft were removed. New pews were installed. The original windows were replaced by eight memorial windows. About 1914, one of these original windows was replaced with a stained-glass window. At some point the choir was relocated to the area behind the pulpit.
In 1913, the Church purchased a pipe organ from the then First Presbyterian Church of Nashville and the Egyptian-style case was added at the same time. This was designed by William Strickland, architect of the State capital and the old First Presbyterian Church, Nashville (now Downtown Presbyterian Church).
The first Sunday School addition was completed and dedicated on August 30, 1925. In 1949, the present Fellowship Hall was literally dug out of the ground underneath the Sanctuary. A new organ, the gift of the Wemyss family, was secured in 1950. This was the third organ. The first one was purchased in 1876. It has been restored and is in the southwest corner of the Sanctuary. Air conditioning was added to the Sanctuary in 1958, and the ceiling fans were removed.
In 1966-68, the Church acquired several houses surrounding the Church site and erected the new educational wing to the west of the Sanctuary. At that time the porch on the front was enclosed to form the present Narthex.
In 1981, the original (1925) Sunday School building was removed and a new addition added. During this building phase, the Sanctuary was enlarged by removing the two classrooms which had been built about 1896. The remaining original window (on the northwest side) was also removed, and a new stained-glass window was given by the Clay Dodson family as a memorial. The stairs from the Fellowship Hall into the Sanctuary were removed and relocated in the Narthex. The organ was completely renovated and refurbished, and a set of Westminster chimes added. the chancel was divided, and the choir area widened. The needlepoint on the pulpit furniture was designed by a Nashville artist and the work done by members of the Chruch. Some of the symbols in the stained-glass windows were used in the needlepoint.
The Church was placed on the American Presbyterian/Reformed Historical Sites Registry in 1978 (No 176). It was placed on the national register of Historic Places on March 25, 1982.