Old Stone Presbyterian Church

Old Stone Presbyterian Church. War Time Hospital. This Church, organized September 2, 1837, before the Cherokee Indians were removed from this area, was the first church organized by white settlers in the bounds of the present Catoosa County, according to available records. The organizers were a group of Scotch Irish Presbyterians from Tennessee or the Carolinas and the charter members were: Robert Magill, James H. McSpadden, Robert C. Cain, Sarah Black, Alfred McSpadden, Fanny Magill, Susan McSpadden, Winfred Cain, Margaret Cain and Nancy Tipton. This building of sandstone quarried nearby, was erected in 1850 and following the Battle of Ringgold, November 27, 1863, was used as a hospital. Blood stains are still visible on the floor. It remained a Presbyterian Church until about 1920 when it was sold to a Methodist congregation which maintained it for some years. It then passed into private hands and to save it from destruction a group of descendants of the early members raised a fund and purchased it, deeding it to a board of trustees to be used for religious purposes. In recent years it has been used by various denominations.