Celebrating Our History

The first Sunday school met under a tree overlooking Whitefish Lake. During the next few weeks, Reverend Pringle started canvassing everyone in the new settlement of Ramsey (later renamed “Whitefish”) for donations and labor for a new church building.

The site for the new church was on the corner of what is now Woodland and Montana. By December, the new building was erected and on December 6, 1903, the new church was organized with 16 members and a minister had been called. The church building was used during the week as a public school and by the Presbyterians and the Methodists as a house of worship. Reverend William Hoole was the first pastor. He built a 2 story parsonage in back of the church. When the town moved to the South side of the railroad tracks, the church bought a Great Northern Railroad boarding house on Second and Lupfer, tore it down, and built another church. For a while there were two churches with the morning service being held at the Lakeview church and the evening service at the Southside church.

After several moves, buildings, locations, and pastors, the cornerstone was laid for the building we now use on May 10, 1921. The superstructure of the church went up rapidly and the building was dedicated on a Sunday in October, 1921. There have been several remodels, but it remains the same beautiful, well-kept sanctuary at the corner of Central Avenue and Third Street in downtown Whitefish, Montana. The historically significant stained glass windows are enjoyed by the congregation and visitors alike.

The First Presbyterian Church celebrated its 100^th birthday in 2003 and was accepted into the Montana Historical Society. In October 2004, our current church building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.