fpchattiesburg.org

The church was served for four years by Rev. H. C. Smith, who preached at First Church along with several other small churches in Perry and Jones Counties. During that time, the church changed its name to Bouie Presbyterian Church and held its worship services at the Methodist meeting house in Hattiesburg. In 1886, the church voted to call Rev. J.... M. Smith as its pastor. Smith was born in 1853 in Mt. Olive, Mississippi, received his training at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, and served a small group of churches along with First Church for seven years. He was followed by Dr. E. J. Currie as pastor. With Dr. Currie, the church grew and was able to build its first building on Main Street (at the site of the current Hattiesburg Cultural Center). That white clapboard structure with twin spires served the congregation for thirty-six years until the church relocated a few blocks north on Main Street. Dr. Currie was a remarkably talented man: an able preacher, a social organizer, and a passionate advocate of education. It was under his leadership that the church planted Petal Presbyterian Church in 1902 and Bay Street Presbyterian Church in 1906. After Bay Street Church was planted, our congregation took the name "The First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Currie was also notable for serving as the first superintendent of schools in Hattiesburg, and he would eventually become president of Chickasaw College in 1918. The minister who served First Church the longest was Dr. W. H. McIntosh, who came to our congregation in 1919. A winsome pastor and forthright defender of biblical truth, "Dr. Mac" was well-known and well-beloved throughout the city. He served in a number of denominational positions, including on the board of trustees of Southwestern University at Memphis and Columbia Theological Seminary and as moderator of the Synod of Mississippi. For thirty-five years, he was a pastor not only to members of First Presbyterian Church but to the citizens of Hattiesburg. It was under his leadership that the congregation ...Read More