Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church was one of the first organized church bodies in Rockford with Rev. James H. Hunter serving the congregation from 1863 – 1870. His salary for the first year was $200. The church was designed to hold a bell, but when it arrived it was too large and a wooden bell tower was built to house the bell. The bell was rung to signal the end of the Civil war. It was also rung for emergencies round the Rockford area. The pews are made from butternut trees from the area. They are hand-hewn and swing on irons. At one time, the church was used for town meetings and the pews could all be turned to face the back of the church so that the altar need not be used for anything but worship. They would flip every other pew and extend a long table between the pews to sit “family style” for pot luck dinners. Thank you to Sue Bequeaith for the following insights and picture of Rockford’s oldest current church.