Old Stone Church in Elm Grove

This church, located in Elm Grove (five miles from what was then considered Wheeling), was founded in 1787, the first Presbyterian organization in the area. The pioneers first worshipped under a giant oak tree which was, as late as the 1940s, still standing. "The protection furnished by the oak in the summer did not suffice for the storms of winter, and the congregation moved into a tent [1]." The 1941 WPA project, "West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State," recorded "later the oak sheltered the first crude, tent-like structure with raised platform, erected in 1790." The stone church we now think of as being the "Old Stone Church" — actually named "The Forks of Wheeling Presbyterian Church" — was built in 1807, "situated on a hill overlooking the beautiful valley where the two forks of the Wheeling Creek unite [1]." In 1913 it was torn down and replaced with a larger stone structure of Gothic architecture which was dedicated June 14, 1914. This structure, located on Stone Church Road in Elm Grove, was demolished in 1970 for the construction of Interstate-70. A groundbreaking for the modern day Stone Presbyterian Church 25 E. Cove Ave. in Elm Grove occurred May 30, 1971.

[1] Paull, Elisabeth Maxwell. Paull-Irwin; a Family Sketch. Boston: Priv. Print., 1915.

▶ A History of Old Stone Church, 1787-1907 
▶ Historic Sketch of Old Stone Church 

Location

▶ 1807-1913: At the confluence of Big Wheeling Creek and Middle Wheeling Creek in Elm Grove
▶ 1914-1970: Stone Church Road, Elm Grove
▶ 1971-present: 25 E. Cove Ave., Elm Grove

Images

Notes

 ▶ No notes at this time   

Additional Resources

 ▶ The Old Stone Church, Elm Grove, West Virginia: one hundred and twentieth anniversary of the organization of the Forks of Wheeling Church, Elm Grove, West Virginia., 1907
 ▶ Stone Church cemetery records, interment and readings, 1709-1945; brief history of Stone Church Cemetery, 
 ▶ Stone United Presbyterian Church cemetery records : Elm Grove, West Virginia, 1986
 ▶ Stone Church cemetery records, 1973
 ▶ Stone Church Cemetery, 1946 to 1959, 2009
 ▶ Stone Church Cemetery, 1960 to 1985, 2011
 ▶ Stone Church Cemetery. volume III, 1986 to 2009, 2010