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The First Presbyterian Church of Niagara Falls was founded in 1824 by 5 citizens under the leadership of Rev. David Smith. First meetings of the church were held in a log school house located on Prospect Street.  The present stone building was constructed in 1841 on First Street at the cost of $8,000 including the cost of the lot. 

The original Board of Trustees of the "First Presbyterian Society of Niagara" included some of the area's most prominent citizens and founders of Niagara Falls. In addition to the original five organizers were Augustus Porter, Samuel DeVeaux, Ira Cook and Ziba Gay. Judge Porter was the first permanent white settler of the area, and along with his brother General Peter Porter, owned Goat Island and all the lands in the area. The famous Native American, Chief Red Jacket and General Lafayette were frequent visitors to the Porter household. Later members of First Presbyterian have been instrumental in founding several of the other churches in Niagara Falls.

In 1970 the church was scheduled to be demolished as part of the city's Urban Renewal program. Fortunately, the congregation's fight to save the building was successful and this magnificent facility still proudly stands as the symbol of Niagara's oldest church.

The Monroe Fordham Regional History Center maintains a collection of the ledgers and, and registers of First Presbyterian Church. The records were scanned into digital format with the work of MFRHC and are available for the public's use.

Click here for an index of the First Presbyterian Church collection.

Trustee Minutes:

1849-1884
1885-1921
1921-1930
1930-1938
1938-1947
1947-1969
1969-1991
1991-2009

Session Minutes:

1824-1843
1843-1876
1876-1913
1914-1932
1932-1945
1946-1953
1954-1960
1961-1974
1974-1988
1988-2001
2001-2009

Register of Members:

1920s-1940s: Communicants (alphabetical order) some records in this volume pre-date the 1920’s.;  Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths (chronological order)
1940s-1960s: Communicants, Infant & Adult Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths (chronological order)
1960s-Present:Communicants (chronological and alphabetical), Rolls of members including Pastors, Elders, Deacons, Trustees, Inactive and Suspended. Document also includes baptismal dates of infant and adult members from 1960 on.

Marriage and Baptism Records:

The records include
two (2) boxes of index cards (one sorted by the groom’s name and one sorted by the maiden name) June 1929 -August 1937

Sorted by Groom's Name
Sorted by Maiden Name

Ledger of Marriages from June 1929 to August 1937; Baptisms from April 1926 to June 1929.

Marriage Ledger

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