First Presbyterian Church Niagara Falls, New York

Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.

Constructed in 1849, the First Presbyterian Church is historically and architecturally significant as a surviving mid nineteenth century religious building located in the downtown area and for being the first Presbyterian assembly (1824) established in the village, now the city of Niagara Falls. The building is a late Gothic Revival church with Romanesque Revival features and an Arts and Crafts era Fellowship Hall that expanded the 1879 Chapel in 1921 to respond to the growth of the congregation and the needs of its various programs. The 1849 church was an early building designed by architect Calvin Fay of Buffalo and is the only known extant work of his in New York State, who relocated to Savannah, Georgia shortly after the church was finished. The building itself is one of the oldest surviving churches in Niagara Falls, being the second oldest church building in Niagara Falls in continuous use by its original denomination. The church is also associated with the early history of the Niagara Falls community for several of its members being involved in founding the village. Judge Augustus Porter was a member of the original First Presbyterian board of trustees. With his brother Peter, Judge Porter owned much of what is now downtown Niagara Falls, including the property on which the church was built. Judge Porter was influential in developing the business and commercial district of the village through fostering several businesses, while protecting Goat Island (now part of Niagara Falls State Park) from wanton commercial development. The four men considered the founders of what became the city of Niagara Falls were the Porter brothers (Augustus and Peter), Samuel DeVeaux and Parkhurst Whitney. Samuel DeVeaux was the first merchant in the village, the founder of the DeVeaux School and also one of the original trustees of First Presbyterian Church.