History does not record why a Presbyterian Church was established in 1819 at Brazeau in southern Perry County by the Rev. David Tenney, or why Salmon Giddings, the pioneer Presbyterian minister, founded another at Pocahontas, northern Cape Girardeau County in 1821, instead of coming to the more populous town of Cape Girardeau on the Mississippi River.

Nevertheless, their legacy lived on a few years later when, in 1835 the Rev. J. F. Cowan, minister of the Apple Creek Presbyterian Church at Pocahontas, organized the First Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau with eight members on March I, 1835, at the home of Capt. Ezra Dutch. Dr. David Edward Young Rice, a Presbyterian minister, and one of the Potosi commission members, was president of the Washington Female Seminary which stood near the northwest corner of Broadway and Lorimier Streets, present site of the Old Opera House. It was in the dining room of that  seminary that the first worship service of our present church was conducted.

Under Dr. Rice's leadership, a lot was purchased on Lorimier Street, at the approximate location of our present church office. On this lot a two story brick building was erected facing Lorimer. As was the case with many churches of that day, the sanctuary was on the second floor. The first floor was used for Sunday School and during the week by the Cape Girardeau Academy for boys. That same ground floor later housed for a number of years the first public school in Cape Girardeau. (Is it symbolic that the Presbyterian Church, which has historically -required an educated ministry, would be the appropriate site for the first public school in Cape Girardeau and also hold its first worship service in a place of learning?)

This first house of worship for our congregation - 18 members at the start - was finished shortly before the death of Dr. Rice to tuberculosis in June of 1854. The church bell was hung on a wooden scaffold to the south of the new building. It was used not only to summon worshipers, but also as the community fire bell, as an alarm when prisoners from the nearby jail escaped and to summon students to school. This bell today hangs in the bell tower and is rung each Sunday for worship services.

The new church struggled after Dr. Rice's death. The Rev. Asahel Munson of Apple Creek Church is credited with stepping in and keeping the church going. In 1857 the congregation obtained a full time minister, the Rev. Franklin Patton. He and his successors put the church on a more solid footing, but the Civil War brought on a new crisis. The congregation was split and many people left the community rather than take a loyalty oath to the U.S. Government.

Nevertheless, the church prevailed and under a succession of faithful ministers it grew. Around the turn of the century, the comer lot, to the north of the two-story church, was purchased. The old church was razed in 1901 and a second church was built on the cornor in 1902 and dedicated in March 1903. The education building was built in 1929.

Over a period of years, as the church grew and the sanctuary building became old and expensive to operate, it was evident that something must be done. The result is our present Tudor Gothic building, dedicated on November 27,1966, with the late Rev. Charles Eric Mount as pastor.

For about 175 years the First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau has been a force for good in our community, has provided leadership for the city and its people and has been faith to the teachings of our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We welcome you to our fellowship and communion.

John L. Blue

In September of 2000, the Rev. Paul Kabo, Jr. began his work as the pastor here. One year later, the church began plans to renovate the Christian Education building. In 2005 or on the 170th birthday of the First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau, the church continues doing the ministry of Jesus Christ on the corner of Broadway and Lorimier. In 2004, we celebrated the completion of a significant renovation project. In 2005, we celebrated the end of the fund raiser entitled "By Faith We Grow" in which we raised $1 million.

The renovation is now complete and it has resulted in a transformation of our buildings. The total cost was close to $1.5 million. At the January 2008 annual meeting of the congregation, we burned the mortgage.  Now we are working to update the Activities Building as scouts and many other groups use it. 

Come, worship and celebrate the faith in Jesus Christ.