Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church
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Historical Marker #2243 in Columbia notes the location and significance of the Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church.
One of the area's earliest setters was Colonel William Casey. About 1803, Casey generously donated land for a log church, named Shiloh, to be built for the area when the Transylvania Presbytery issued a recommendation of need. Later, when a more permanent brick structure served the county's Presbyterians and Baptists, the church was called Union Presbyterian to denote the structure's use by both congregations.
The current brick building, known as the Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church, was built in 1857 from local materials. It originally contained a segregated balcony for enslaved African American members and visitors, but it was removed in 1885 during a renovation project. The church's first pastor was Rev. John McKee, a graduate of Centre College and Princeton Seminary. McKee was also the principal of the Columbia Male and Female School.
In 1925, the previously separate congregations of Columbia Presbyterian and Union Presbyterian combined into one church body. The name Columbia-Union was given to the joined county and town churches.
The church was named as a state historic landmark by the Kentucky Heritage Council in 1971, and has been in continuous use for more than 150 years.
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Centre College
Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church's first pastor, John McKee, was a graduate of Danville's Centre College, shown here. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.
Male and Female School
Rev. McKee, the first pastor at Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church was also the principal of Male and Female School in Columbia, shown here. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.