Presbyterian Church

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First United Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 309 Lyon Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.The original church building was constructed in 1902 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. That building was destroyed by fire in 2000 and rebuilt 2002. As of 2012, the congregation is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).Early historyThe first Presbyterian presence in Sault Ste. Marie came in 1823, when divinity student Robert McMurtrie Laird was assigned to minister to the troops stationed at Fort Brady. Laird, however, was unhappy with the area and ill-suited for his responsibilities, and left in early 1824. A second try came in 1831, when Reverend Jeremiah Porter arrived in the area, also ministering to the troops stationed at Fort Brady. The First Presbyterian Church of Sault Ste. Marie was founded the following year, when a small church was constructed by Mrs. John Johnson. However, in 1833, Porter left, along with a contingent of troops, to move to Fort Dearborn in Chicago. There Porter founded the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, and ministered to that congregation for he rest of his life. However, when Porter left Sault Ste. Marie, the congregation there withered.Finally, in 1853, Charles T. Harvey of the St. Mary's Fall Ship Canal Company revived the church and requested a new pastor. Rev. William McCullough was assigned to minister to the Sault, and in 1854 a new church was constructed and the congregation was formally organized, making it the first such church in the Upper Peninsula. However, McCullough soon contacted pneumonia and died, leaving the congregation once more without a pastor. The congregation dwindled yet again, until in 1860 there were only six members.