Hanging Rock, Ohio Presbyterian Church
By Keith Kappes January 1966
Ironton, Ohio – A routine entry in a Common Pleas Court journal is to be the final chapter in the 115-year history of the Hanging Rock Presbyterian Church. The court has been asked to approve the sale of the church building to another religious order, according to Dale H. CHRISTNER, attorney for the Presbytery of Scioto. Final approval is pending.
Active use of the church ended last May 18 when the Chillicothe-based presbytery officially dissolved it. Economic woes, caused by dwindling membership, were cited as the reason for closing the house of worship. The church had only ten active members at the time, although 35 were carried on its membership rolls.
Property ownership reverted to the presbytery trustees, who instructed Christner to find a buyer for the gray-stoned structure. The church had not had a resident pastor for several years and had been without a part-time minister for almost three years.
The First United Presbyterian Church of Ironton has accepted letters of membership from 11 of its congregation. The Rev. Philip HENDERSON said others are being processed.
The Hanging Rock Presbyterian Church came into being during the flourishing days of the iron region and its charcoal furnaces. The church was dedicated on Nov. 24, 1850. The Rev. A. BARDWELL was its first pastor.
Services had begun almost ten years before the church was formally organized in its new home. The aging building faces new U.S. 52 in what was once a bustling community, the namesake of the region where pig iron was in great supply.
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