Witherspoon History

Knoxville College was the first of these schools established. From this center, trained workers were sent out to the mission fields of the states mentioned.  As the years went by, students of Knoxville College as well as teachers and students of some of the mission schools came north to further their education and to seek better living conditions.  Witherspoon Presbyterian Church can trace its history as far back as 1896 to the Ninth Street Presbyterian Church.  The first of a Knoxville College group arrived in Indianapolis in 1896; and during the ten years that followed, others came from the United Presbyterian missions of Athens, Tennessee, and Henderson, North Carolina, and a little later from other mission schools of the South.  Being Presbyterian by faith these young people, for the most part, joined the Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis.  Many of them became loyal members of the old Ninth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Street.

About 1906 the Presbytery came to the conclusion that the Ninth Street church was not making sufficient progress to warrant the continuance of the outlay of money necessary to its maintenance.  Consequently, in 1906 the Presbytery decided to withdraw its support from the Ninth Street Presbyterian Church.  After a difference of opinion, the Ninth Street Church became two: the Fourteenth Street Presbyterian Church (Saint Paul Presbyterian Church) at 14th and Senate Avenue and another on Camp Street (Camp Street Presbyterian Church).

Believing that was the end of the Ninth Presbyterian Church of which some United Presbyterians had been members for 10 years, two young men, Henry W. Cleage and H. L. Hummons, M.D., consulted Dr. J. P. Cowan, pastor of the Woodruff Avenue United Presbyterian Church and a senior member of the Indiana Presbytery, concerning the establishment of an organization for Negro people. The group found in Dr. Cowan just the kind of encouragement that was needed and that was needed to give leaders the inspiration to push on.  Through his encouragement and effort a committee from the Presbytery met at the office of Dr. Hummons to discuss the feasibility of establishing a United Presbyterian congregation.  All of the members present were heartily in favor of and encouraged this organization. On April 30, 1907, the Presbytery of Indiana of the United Presbyterian Church held a called meeting at Realty Hall in response to a petition signed by 31 persons asking to be organized into a United Presbyterian congregation.  Prof. David Graham of Rushville was moderator and The Reverend W. W. McCall of Greensburg was secretary.  The petition was approved by unanimous vote and in April 1907 the Camp Street congregation became known as Witherspoon Presbyterian Church.