Our
200 Year History in Brief
The First Presbyterian Church of Ulysses formed when a group of the
faithful came once a month to David Atwater’s home in Trumansburg
to hear the Rev. John Lindsley preach. The church was formally organized
in January of 1803 through the work of the Rev. Jedediah Chapman,
the first stated missionary of the Presbyterian Church. He was appointed
“for four years on the Northwest Frontier” and was “authorized
to employ catechists for the other persons unacquainted with the principles
of our holy religion.” During the American Revolution, Chapman
was such an ardent patriot a large price was offered on his head.
He served a year as Chaplain in General George Washington’s
army and General Lafayette was a frequent visitor in his home. Rev.
Chapman organized other congregations, including one at Ithaca (originally
known as the South or the Second Presbyterian Church of Ulysses).
The Trumansburg church hosted the organizing meeting on the Presbytery
of Geneva in 1805. This congregation has been a member of the Geneva
Presbytery, Elmira Presbytery, Steuben-Elmira Presbytery and presently
the Geneva as boundaries have expanded and contracted.
The
first church building, a log cabin 25 by 35 ft. in size, stood at
the corner of Podunk and Perry City Roads. In 1817, to meet the
needs of a growing congregation., a frame church was erected on
the site of the present sanctuary. In 1848, that church was razed
to make way for the present sanctuary and chapel, materials from
the frame church being used in the construction of both the chapel
and sanctuary.
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