The evening times., 1895-09-25
IT HAS SEEN A CENTURY
First Presbyterian Church to Cele-
brate Its Centennial.
Meeting of the Congregation to Be
Held Tonight TO Discuss Ways
ard Means.

very Important meeting OF tne Session
of the First Presbyterian Church win be
held this evening. Its object will be
that the session may discuss the ways and
means of the coming great centennial cele-
bra,ion of that church.
1t has been known for some time that
there would be celebration of this kind,
but there is new proposition, which will
be broached for the first time tonight.
The original intention was to signalize
the first hundred years of the existence
OF the First Presbyterian Church.
1t has occurred to the officers OF the
the church, however, that the scope OF
the observance might be broadened and
| enlarged so as to make the coming ceie-
bratiUn an event in which all the Presby-
terian churches of this jurisdiction could
be interested.
The First Church is the oldest Prcsby-
terian organization in the city of Washing
ton proper, the church of Georgetown alone
antetiating it in history.
1t is expected that the Rev. Adolos Allen,
ro-pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,
will attend a meeting of the Presbytery or
this District, which will be convened in
Warner Memorial Church on the 7th OF
October. 1t is also expected that he will
be instructed by the meeting tonight to
make the proposition at the Presbytery for
celebration which will include all the
churches.
Dr. Sunderland favors the celebration on
the proposed grand scale and he spoke very
interestingly on the subject TO Times
exporter last night. In the talk he related
the history of the church in n general way
which will be found to be interesting nview
of the celebration and a lsO as chapter ofthe
ancient history Of the city.
The nucleus of the present church on Four
and II half street. at which the Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage will be co-pastor, was
formed in a temporary building used by the
carpenters who worked on the White House.
The corner stone of the White House was
laid in 1892 and 1t took ten years to
complete it.
When the carpenters began their part
of the work they had their own quarters
and as well as can be ascertained they
formed religious assembly of the Presby-
terian faith in November, 1875. Their
house as well as the White House was then
impressed on the mind OF Mrs. President
Adams, who in / 500 words wrote to her
sister from the White House that although
they were in the middle of til C woods she had
some difficulty in getting wood to do the
cooking. In those days also Mrs. Adams
used to have her clothes lines stretched
across the East room and on these were
occasionally displayed the Presidential,
male and female, garments to dry. 1t is
supposed that these primitive good people
also attended the carpenters church in the
shop in the woods.
When the shop was torn down the CON
gregation used to worship in an old build
ing which was used as a school house
near the northeast corner of Tenth and
F streets After worshipping here for
some time they moved into an old academy
which stood near the present site of the
Navy Yard.
Up to this time, said DR.. Sunderland.
the. church was what might be termed
a wandering or nomadic institution and
they were next heard of in the room of
the supreme court, in the Capitol. This
room is now in the basement. This
was all, of course, while the Capitol was
in process of erection.
The first communion services were
held in the Capitol church. About this
time their pastor was the Rev. John
Breckenridge, possibly, he said, the orig
inal way of spelling Breckinridge.
The remains of this pastor and his wife
are in a tomb at Hardwood, which was a
part of the Corcoran estate, and now in
elUded In the Old Soldiers Home grounds
The interment was made probabbly ON a
small holding, which was bought by Mr.
Corcoran. The death of Mr.. Bracken-
ridge was about the year 1905.
The congregation OF this chapel subse
quently sold it TO a colored Methodist con-
gregation, and in 1923 nearly three
quarters of a century ago the foundations
Of the present -Four rand -a-half Street
Church were laid, one of the first pastors of
the new church being the Rev William
Post. The original building was the pres
ent Sunday school room. In 1859 the
church was enlarged TO its present proper
tons.
In 1853 Dr. Sunderland became the
pastor of the church. Most of the history
of the old church has been collected by Dr.
Sunderland from people who were children
at the time of the events he relates