First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located at Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York. It was built in 1905 and is a large, five-sided stone building with a wing. It features a three-story square tower with a pyramidal roof and arched Romanesque window surrounds. ()
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The related manse was added at the same time.
History The First Presbyterian Church in Poughkeepsie, New York was organized in 1749."Poughkeepsie, First Presbyterian Church", Presbyterian Historical Society Services were conducted first in connection with Fishkill and afterwards in connection with the Charlotte Precinct, which included Washington Hollow and Pleasant Valley.Platt, Edmund. "Poughkeepsie", The History of Dutchess County, (Frank Hasbrouck, ed.) 1909, Poughkeepsie. S.A. Mathieu, p. 250
In September 1826, the North River Presbytery re-organized the church with eighteen members and installed Rev. Alonso Welton as pastor. The congregation first worshiped in an old frame building on Church Street, before moving to Cannon Street in December 1826.Smith, James H., History of Dutchess County, 1882, Syracuse. D. Mason & Co., p. 424
Reverend Thomas Woodrow, maternal grandfather of President Woodrow Wilson, preached in Poughkeepsie after emigrating from Scotland in 1835.Weinstein, Edwin A., Woodrow Wilson, Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 4
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