Crossnore Presbyterian Church

In the early 1900s, a small group of believers met in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Brown for Sunday School and worship. Since no minister was available, Dr. Eustace H. Sloop led the service.

In 1916, a small chapel was built at the cost of $300.00 on land given by Mr. Brown. It was about a quarter of a mile southwest of the present location. In 1917, the congregation petitioned the Holston Presbytery for permission to be organized as an official church. On May 18, 1918, the Presbytery formed a commission consisting of Dr. C. C. Canon of Bristol TN, Dr. J. A. McMillan of Johnson City, TN, the Rev. Edgar Tufts of Banner Elk, and Elders E. C. Robbins of Pineola and Dr. W. C. Tate of Banner Elk for this purpose.

There were thirteen charter members received on this occasion: Mary Martin Sloop, E. H. Sloop, A. F. McKinney, Minnie McKinney, Gwendolyn McKinney, Newton Clark, Mary J. Clark, Jemima Biggerstaff, Mary L. Duncan, Mary S. Pfaff, Effie Vance, Georgie Biggerstaff, and D. F. Presson. At the close of the service, a congregational meeting was led by Rev. Tufts in which E. H. Sloop was elected elder and A. F. McKinney as a deacon.

The church celebrated its 100th anniversary on July 22, 2018, with over 200 people gathered for worship and a luncheon. Rev. Maggie Palmer Lauterer is the author of our centennial history: Crossnore Presbyterian Church Ministry and Mission: The First 100 Years and the book is available through the church office.

In the early 1920s, the congregation began planning to build a bigger church. They approached Will Franklin, a local stonemason, and carpenter, who at that time was 70 years old. He reluctantly agreed to help. Groundbreaking was a memorable day with Cordelia Dellinger Kidder and her sister Ruth digging the first shovelful of dirt. The story of “Uncle” Will Franklin and the building of the church is told in Miracle in the Hills (pages 159-166), Legette Blythe’s book about Dr. Mary Martin Sloop, founder of Crossnore School, Inc.

Uncle Will could not read or write but he built the church from plans prepared by the architect, Leonard White of Greensboro. Work on the stone building began in the summer of 1924 and continued in 1925. Two hundred loads of rocks were hauled by horse and wagon from the banks of the Linville River. High above the pulpit, on the inside wall, it is possible to see where work stopped one year and began the following.

The first worship service was held in the sanctuary on August 8, 1926. Crossnore Presbyterian Church is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.