Where We Come From: our history

We have an interesting and rich history of dedicated and faithful believers.

The first service of the Presbyterian Church of Paullina was held in the home of Mr. Alex Scott at 6:00pm on January 10, 1882. Twenty-eight people became the charter members that day. The next day, January 11, 1882, the congregation met again to elect officers and choose a name. Our first name was the Scotch Presbyterian Church of O’Brien County, later changed to the First Presbyterian Church of Paullina.

Mr. Evans preached the first sermon delivered in town to about eight people on the third Sunday of May 1882, in the Northwestern Hotel on Mickley Street. The first church was built in 1883 and dedicated in September of that year, in the town of Paullina. This building was sold in 1894 to the Norwegian Lutheran congregation. The Presbyterians then built a much larger church on the site of its present location in 1895. This building served the church until the spring of 1952 when it was razed and construction of the present building begun. Dedication of the new building was May 31, 1953.

In June 1971, the Grace United Methodist Church of Paullina and the First Presbyterian Church of Paullina became a yoked congregation to be in effect for a year. At the end of that period, many of the members of the Grace United Methodist Church became members of the First Presbyterian Church.