The Oldest House of Worship in Warren County, Pennsylvania

and the Presbytery of Lake Erie

Constructed 1834

First Presbyterian Church  sgpc@kinzua.net 

202 Main Street, PO Box 278, Sugar Grove, PA  16350-0278

Rev. Nancy Page, Pastor

ncpage@comcast.net     814.837.4962

History of the Church

Although the church was founded in 1821, it took until 1834 to complete the House of Worship. Counting among its former members the community’s major abolitionists including Cynthia Catlin Miller, the property was used as the main site of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Sugar Grove Underground Railroad Convention, recreating the original anti-slavery convention held in Sugar Grove in 1854.

During the early days of Sugar Grove, members of the Presbyterian Church broke off to form the community's Congregational Church as a protest against slavery. During a sermon, a minister announced that the Presbyterian denomination held more than 2 Million Dollars worth of slaves. Outraged, all but 6 members of the congregation vacated to form the new group. After the abolition of slavery, the Congregational Church of Sugar Grove eventually closed and the majority of its membership returned to the Presbyterian congregation.

The original 1834 construction was remodeled in the 1880's into the Gothic Style and then added onto in 1916. Today, it stands as the oldest house of worship in Warren County and the Presbytery of Lake Erie.