Lincolnton Presbyterian

Lincoln County
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Org 1823
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Photography by John Kirkland

Lincolnton Presbyterian is said to have been built in 1823 as a “Union Meeting House”, sharing the sanctuary with Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians.  Shared meeting houses were not uncommon in rural Georgia where resources were scarce and multiple faiths were present.  The Baptists met here until 1876, and the Methodists used the church until 1915.   From that date the church has been Lincolnton Presbyterian.  The cemetery originally was associated just with the church but later became the town cemetery.  The church has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982.

In 1821, a resolution was passed by the State Senate stating that the existing academy in the County of Lincoln and the Village of Lincolnton should be the official public academy. Rem Remson, Peter Lamar, Lewis Stovall, Stephen Stovall and William C. Stokes were appointed Commissioners. On March 3, 1823 Peter Lamar made a deed whereby he conveyed a parcel of land “on Raysville road to the south of the village of Lincolnton, containing by estimation three acres” to the commissioners and their successors of the Lincolnton Academy “for the use of publick and private schools, houses of publick worship, or any other publick uses that the commissioners, or their successors in office may apply it to.” The deed also stipulates that the land is given “with the privilege of passing the nearest and most convenient way to the spring” which was apparently near the property.

Immediately following the transfer of this gift, the church was erected. The wooden structure originally measured 30 x 50 feet.  It was later lengthened by an additional 10 feet. It was the first and only house of worship in the town of Lincolnton for many years. Over time, the Baptists and Methodists erected their own churches and passed resolutions expressing their desire that the members of the Presbyterian congregation serve as the owners of Union Church.  The church has been well cared for and we are grateful to the congregants for their stewardship.

Peter Lamar, was known as the “King of Lincoln” and is considered to be the founder of Lincolnton because he donated land for the first courthouse, jail, church and school in Lincolnton.  He also became a prominent figure in public life and politics. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1811 to 1812, fought in the War of 1812 and rose to the rank of Colonel.  After the war he served as Clerk of Superior Court, State Senator and after Lincolnton was incorporated he was one of its first commissioners.  The Lamar family played a huge roll in Georgia history for decades.  Joseph R. Lamar, a distant cousin, lived in Augusta (next to President Woodrow Wilson’s boyhood home), was a close friend to the young Woodrow Wilson, served in the Georgia House of Representatives and was appointed as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

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