First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church was originally built in 1858 and is a good example of simple Gothic Revival architecture. It was built of red brick and features white stone trim, a central bell tower, buttresses, arched windows with tracery, stained glass in the windows, and pinnacles at each corner. The church was also the home of the first presbytery in Iowa (a presbytery refers to the governing body of a Presbyterian church).

First Presbyterian was organized in 1839 when Muscatine was called Bloomington. The congregation worshipped in a meeting house until the first church building was constructed in 1849. The first synod (a group of presbyteries) in Iowa was established at the church in 1852. The congregation grew in the coming years which prompted the construction the present church in 1858. In 1915 the church built a classroom wing. The entire building was renovated in 1986 and the sanctuary was remodeled in 2005. The gathering hall was then renovated in 2012. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Klein, Estelle H. "First Presbyterian Church." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. September 14, 1977. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/77000544_text.

"About Us." First Presbyterian Church. Retrieved from Web Archive on January 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021847/http://www.fpcmuscatine.com/page/show/707186-about-us.