Historic Name

Presbyterian Church

Address

4264 Avonia Road

Municipality

Fairview Township

Tax Parcel

21080024000900

Historic District

Classification

Class 2 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

121659

Historic Function

Religion - religious structure

Style

Gothic Revival Towers

Built

1900

Architect

Builder

Barn Type on property

Last Entry Update

6/28/2016

William Sturgeon, a land-owner and prominent man of Fairview, passed away in 1837. In his will he outlined a plot of land that could be used to erect a Presbyterian church after his widow passed away. In order for the Presbyterians to receive the land, a church had to organize six months after his widow’s death, and a structure had to be built on the designated land within a year of her death. Sturgeon belonged to the original Fairview Church, established c. 1810 by Rev. Johnston Eaton. This first church was established in the heart of the Fairview settlement, and the church’s original structure was made of logs that the townspeople built together. In the 1840s the church split into “Old School” and “New School” factions. In 1842 the New School Presbyterians built a white, wooden Greek Revival style church. After the death of Sturgeon’s widow, Margaret, in 1845, the Old School Presbyterians built a structure on the land set aside by Sturgeon, which was directly next to the New School church. After operating side by side for over two decades, the churches reunited in 1870 and built a structure next to the Old School church. In 1874 the newly built church and the Old School church burned down, which prompted the congregation to build the brick, Gothic Revival style church that currently stands today. The church cost about $11,000 to build. The church’s tower originally had a steeple atop it, but has since been altered due to expansion of the congregation and stylistic changes. Throughout its lengthy history, the New School building would accommodate five other congregations, a shirt factory, and a Second Harvest Food Bank program until its demolition sometime in the 2000s. A parking lot was constructed in its place to accommodate the church’s newly built community building.

Sources: Bates, Samuel P. History of Erie County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: Warner, Beers, & Co., 1884.; Freeman, Sabina. “Fairview’s Churches Planning for Bicentennial Days.” Cosmopolite Herald (Girard). August 21, 1975.; Sanford, Laura G. The History of Erie County, Pennsylvania from its First Settlement. Erie, PA: Laura G. Sanford, 1894.; The Fairview Area Historical Society, Touring Fairview Township, 2015.

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Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office