A Short History of Thyatira Presbyterian Church (USA)

A Short History of Thyatira Presbyterian Church (USA). . You are now standing on grounds of the oldest church of any denomination or institution in the western half of NC there possesses legal documentation for proof of age. Land grants were made in this area in 1747 and the meeting house that became Thyatira was established shortly thereafter and before 1750., Burials were here by 1750 and the first meeting house was located in a vacant section of the old cemetery, below traffic circle. Earliest surviving marker is John Nesbit, 1755. Unmarked spaces probably contain burials that were never marked or the markers have not survived: A collateral ancestor of John Knox (ca. 1513-1572) a founder of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, plus veterans from all wars starting with the French and Indian War to the present, are interred in our cemetery. Also ancestors of one US President and two Vice Presidents, and a Civil War Surgeon, and a US Congressman, and tradition says the cemetery is the final resting place of four PIRATES (see Pirates on other side). You will find many of these burials in the self guided brochure in nearby weather proof holder., Thyatira's first permanently ordained minister was Dr. Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, a graduate of what became Princeton University. A son of the congregation, a founder of the University of NC (main quadrangle bears his name), he was the only minister of the forty original trustees. Thyatira was the only congregation to contribute financially to the university, the first state school to open (1794) in the nation. Dr. McCorkle served Thyatira 1777-1805., The present vernacular Gothic Revival house of worship, fourth constructed by the congregation and noted for its elaborate brick work was completed in 1860 and still contains the original gallery where African Americans worshipped. Some of the original pulpit furniture is still in use today and the congregation owns the pre 1780 pictures of King George II and Queen Charlotte with writing on the back by Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. Their Salisbury, NC, owner during the American Revolution is interred in our cemetery., Thyatira's global influences over the years is manifested through more than thirty of its sons and daughters serving in ministry and missions and with producing two moderators of the General Assembly, the highest elected office in the Presbyterian Church, USA., Other important historical facts includes a visit of a US Vice President, an African tribal chief, and several General Assembly moderators other than those coming from Thyatira., Visitors are always more than welcome to our beautiful, well-kept campus. However, the cemetery should be visited during daylight hours and the museum is open only by appointment and for special occasions., An alphabetical (last name) list of burials in old section (below the traffic circle) of cemetery can be found on other side.