In the summer heat and humidity of 1869, the same year that the town of Dallas Center was organized, husbands and wives and neighbors and friends gathered to ensure that God’s love would be passed down to successive generations. They succeeded. One hundred fifty years later, the seventh generation of these charter members faithfully worships as part of the Presbyterian congregation their ancestors founded.
The original members worshiped in Whitman school, with a few of the services conducted by Rev. William Campbell from Adel. On August 8, 1869, during a meeting called at the school, Rev. Campbell, in his capacity as district secretary of the Synod of Iowa, and Rev. H.H. Kellogg, Jr., missionary of the U.S.A. Presbyterian Church Home Mission Committee, deemed a Presbyterian church duly organized. During the next two years, services also were held in a hall over a drug store, in other schools, and in the train depot.
Two years later, Rev. George R. Smith, a young seminary student from out East, became the first minister of the first church built in Dallas Center – on the northeast corner of Walnut Street and Percival Avenue, across from Mound Park. The trustees of the church signed a document stating: “Said Church shall be used free for two years, if desired for school purposes, on the condition that the district furnish the necessary and suitable seats for the same. We also agree that other Christian denominations shall have the free use of said house when not occupied in the regular services of said Presbyterian Church.” On June 2, 1871, the cornerstone was laid.
In the new church, filled with the pungent smells of raw wood, fresh paint, and a wood-burning stove, the seats were planks until money was raised to bring in 100 chairs, a pulpit desk, and a communion table.
It would be another 11 years before the mellow tones of the church’s bell would peal out across the “open wild prairie,” as Rev. Smith described it. By 1882, under the pastorate of Rev. A.S. Peck, $400 had been raised to find a bell and bring it to the church. (The bell since has followed the congregation to two new church buildings, and is an integral part of the church’s identity.
In 1894, under the pastorate of Rev. L.M. Beebe, the church building was enlarged, adding two more Sunday School rooms and doubling the original seating capacity. A furnace was installed, and half of the tall steeple was removed.
The beautiful wooden church served its purpose well, but time eventually took its toll. Deemed inadequate both in size and safety, the old building was razed following the last service held there on May 18, 1913. Th e cornerstone for a new larger brick structure, erected on the same site, was laid on October 9, 1913. And on February 8, 1914, the new church was dedicated.
Extensive remodeling and improvements took place over the next several decades. Then, in 1992, the congregation pondered the accessibility and upkeep of the three-level church. After a great deal of deliberation, a meeting was called and a vote was taken to approve building an accommodating one-level church on a 10-acre site on the south edge of Dallas Center. (The brick church was sold, and now is a lovely private residence and Airbnb.) Again, as in the early days of the church, worship services were held temporarily in a storefront in Dallas Center.
The design of the new church incorporated the original bell, along with the stained glass windows donated to the church by the George Rhinehart family in 1882 – which meant that the bell and the stained glass windows now were in their third church home. On June 21, 1998, 201 congregants attended their first worship service in the new building. The treasured bell was rung, the communicants class joined the membership, Communion was served, and a baptism was celebrated. First Presbyterian Church hadn’t missed a beat.
On November 18, 2017, the congregation voted to remodel and expand the 1998 building. Demolition and construction began in Spring 2019, and the project was mostly completed by June 2020. The classrooms were remodeled. A fellowship hall, commercial kitchen, and restrooms were added. The former kitchen was turned into a nursery. But due to the pandemic, the renovated spaces and fellowship hall could not be used for many more months.
The congregation is a welcoming one! Our new logo contains the words “Connect – Belong – Grow – Serve.” First Presbyterian Church always has been supportive of the Dallas Center community. We were founded in the same year, 1869, so we have grown together. Church members have served in a variety of leadership roles in local government, charitable organizations, and in the business community. Church members also have been generous in their financial support of the Dallas Center community. May God provide us with many opportunities to use and enjoy our new spaces, as we connect with and serve one another!
