Built 1892 Opened 1892 Phone +1 423-744-9073 | NRHP Reference # 08000701 Area 1,200 m² Added to NRHP 24 July 2008 | |
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Location 321 N. Jackson St., Athens, Tennessee Address 321 N Jackson St, Athens, TN 37303, USA Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Similar Trinity United Methodist, First Presbyterian Church, Broad Street United M | ||
First United Presbyterian Church is a historic African-American church at 321 N. Jackson Street in Athens, Tennessee.
The church was established in 1889 or 1890 as a mission church, led by minister Jacob L. Cook. Cook, a native of Athens and the son of former slaves, had attended Fisk University as a member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, then went on to graduate from Knoxville College. In 1888 he traveled north to study for the Presbyterian ministry at the United Presbyterian Church's Allegheny Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He returned to Athens and started a new congregation in a building that also served as a dance hall. The current church building was built and furnished in 1892 with assistance from sponsors in Pennsylvania. The interior seating, which is still in the church, came from an opera house.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. In October 2013 the Tennessee Preservation Trust named it to its annual "Ten in Tennessee" list of endangered historic properties in the state.