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David Rice organized Presbyterians in and around Danville into what was known as Concord Church in 1784. The Presbyterian congregation moved in 1831 to a “New Meeting House,” the nucleus of the present home of The Presbyterian Church of Danville, at the corner of Main and Fifth Streets.

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The Reverend Dr. John C. Young was the most influential of Danville ‘s Presbyterian clergymen during the first half of the Nineteenth Century. He was not only a Pastor of the Danville Presbyterian Church, but also President of Centre College between 1834 and 1853 and served as Moderator to the General Assembly in 1853.

 

A second Presbyterian Church was built on Danville’s Third Street in 1853 to accommodate increasing numbers of Centre College students and a segment of the local Presbyterian population.

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Four years after the Civil War ended in 1865, the national body of the Presbyterian Church divided. The congregation of the Old First Church attached itself to the Presbyterian Church, U.S., while the Second Presbyterian Church remained with the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Following two unsuccessful attempts, the two Danville Presbyterian congregations voted to reunite in 1969, 100 years later.

 

When the two local congregations joined, the original location of The Presbyterian Church in Danville was chosen as the site for the reunited church. In 1995, recognizing the need for more space as the programs for the church continued to grow, the congregation voted to enter into an extensive renovation and expansion program. In June 1996, the congregation moved back into its beautifully restored Gothic sanctuary and expanded church facility. As a result of a generous gift from Dr. Robert Weaver in June of 1999, the installation of a new Taylor and Boody organ was completed.

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In May of 2019, the Reverend Caroline M. Kelly was installed as the first woman to serve as pastor/head of staff.

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In April of 2019, the Session voted to relocate the Robert Logan Confederate monument from the section of the church's property known as McDowell Park. The monument was erected in the park by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Kate Morrison Branch, in 1910, after the church deeded the park to the City of Danville. In preparation to expand and renovate the church in the 1990s, the city deeded the park back to the church. In December of 2021, the monument was removed by the UDC and relocated to a private museum in Mead County, Kentucky. 

 

Now, The Presbyterian Church in Danville, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA, looks ahead to its future as it continues to proclaim God’s word through mission and service.