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george whitworth

Spotlight on history: Presbyterians in Seattle

Posted September 26th, 2016

Within two months of the chartering of the city of Seattle, seven Presbyterian men and women gathered in George Whitworth’s home to organize themselves as the First Presbyterian Church of Seattle. Their session first met in 1873, as Whitworth preached alternate Sundays with a Methodist minister. Their first sanctuary was built at the corner of Third and Madison streets in 1877. The church grew rapidly, by 1894 boasting 643 members, and moving into a new building at the corner of Fourth and Spring.