The historic churches of Charlotte

Charlotte was a Presbyterian town before it was a bank town, and the churches are the oldest institutions still doing what they were built to do. This guide covers the historic ones, the congregations that shaped the city’s Black and white halves, the churches that were lost and the ones in the directory that carry the tradition today. History links to the National Register, the county’s landmarks commission and the library’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story; churches with listings link to the directory. It’s a history guide, not a directory of every congregation; the community directory has those.

First Presbyterian, 1857

First Presbyterian Church at 200 West Trade Street was built in 1857, a one-story Gothic Revival stuccoed brick building; the spire was rebuilt in 1883-84 and the side and rear walls were taken down and rebuilt in 1894-95, and it was listed on the National Register in 1982 (Wikipedia, citing the National Register nomination). The complex occupies an entire block of Uptown inside an ironwork fence, and the congregation dates to 1821 (Charlotte Stories). Behind it is Settlers’ Cemetery, where the town buried its founders until Elmwood opened; the cemetery guide has that story. Our read: it’s the one building in the center city that looks the way it did before the Civil War, and the block of trees around it is the reason Fourth Ward survived.

St. Peter’s Catholic, 1851

St. Peter’s Catholic Church on South Tryon was founded in 1851 and the present Gothic Revival building has stood since 1893, with stained glass and a pipe organ still in use, one of the city’s oldest continually operating houses of worship (GPSmyCity, Charlotte Stories). A Catholic church in a Presbyterian town in 1851 was a statement; the Irish and German railroad workers who built it are the city’s first immigrant congregation, and the international corridors guide is their descendants’ story.

Little Rock AME Zion, 1884

Little Rock AME Zion Church was organized in 1884 in Mary Ann Hunter’s backyard by members who left Clinton Chapel AME Zion; the first building was a little house sitting on a rock, hence the name, on property bought for $425. In 1906 the building was moved across Seventh Street so slowly that a funeral was held while it sat in the middle of the road (Soul of America). The AME Zion denomination, headquartered in Charlotte, was the backbone of Black Charlotte’s civic life; Johnson C. Smith University’s founders were Presbyterian, but the congregations of the West End were Zion (NCpedia). The historic Little Rock building on North McDowell is now an arts venue, and the congregation worships elsewhere, which is Charlotte’s pattern in one building.

The Brooklyn churches

Brooklyn, the Black business and residential district in Second Ward, was cleared by urban renewal in the 1960s, and its churches went with it. Brooklyn United Presbyterian sacrificed its sanctuary for what is now the reflecting pool in Marshall Park and merged in late 1967 with First United Presbyterian at Seventh and College, whose pastor said the church could exercise a viable ministry from its downtown site (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story). Most of that congregation’s members commute from Biddleville and the west side. The Mecklenburg Investment Company building at 233 South Brevard, a three-story brick building completed in 1922 to rent office space to Black professionals, is the one Brooklyn landmark still standing, a National Historic Landmark (Soul of America, Historic Landmarks Commission). The Lost Charlotte guide has the rest of the ledger.

Bethel Presbyterian, 1828

North of the city, Bethel Presbyterian Church in Cornelius was founded in 1828 and has been, in its own words, a cornerstone of faith in the area for nearly two centuries, gathering Sundays at 9 and 11. It’s the country-church type: Scots-Irish Presbyterians on farmland, a cemetery beside the sanctuary, a congregation older than the town around it. The mill towns of the lake built their churches next; Davidson College itself was a Presbyterian foundation, and Barber-Scotia College in Concord was founded in 1867 as Scotia Seminary under the Presbyterian Church, per its listing.

The downtown congregations today

Caldwell Presbyterian Church, in the Elizabeth neighborhood, describes itself as diverse, inclusive and justice-oriented, worshiping Sundays at 11 in person and online; it’s the historic Presbyterian tradition’s progressive wing. Mount Carmel Baptist Church gathers as one faith family in Charlotte. First United Methodist Church sits in the heart of downtown Gastonia. Historic Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church in Monroe carries the word historic in its name and the history in its congregation. Rocky River Presbyterian serves Harrisburg and Concord from one of the county’s oldest Presbyterian settlements.

The new churches, and the old pattern

Charlotte’s religious growth is in the ring towns: Grace Covenant with three Lake Norman campuses, The Pointe Church in Belmont, Venture Church in Dallas, The Road Church in Mint Hill, First Baptist Indian Trail, New River Church in Clover, Fortitude Church in Rock Hill, St. James Anglican in Lake Wylie, Calvary Lutheran in Concord and Eastside Nazarene in Gastonia. The megachurches, the Catholic parishes and the mosques and temples aren’t listed yet; the Levine Jewish Community Center anchors the Jewish community’s programming. The pattern hasn’t changed since 1828: the congregation comes before the town.

Visiting

The Uptown churches open for services and, most weekdays, for a quiet look; First Presbyterian’s block and St. Peter’s sanctuary are ten minutes apart on foot and GPSmyCity publishes a self-guided historic churches walk of about 1.2 miles (GPSmyCity). Uptown Funk Tour includes them. The historic markers guide lists the plaques on the church lawns, and the West End guide covers the congregations up Beatties Ford Road. Churches list free in the community directory; if yours has a history we’ve missed, tell us.