Trinity Presbyterian Church was officially organized in 1863, in the
midst of the Civil War, the first church in the small town of
Reeseville (later named Berwyn). The founding members were local
farmers, artisans, and their families, predominately Scotch-Irish,
who had settled here and longed for a place of worship in the
community. The first
pastor was the Rev. John McLeod, Philadelphia District Secretary of
the Board of Foreign Missions. He had recently taken up residence on
a nearby farm and gave the site for the church building from his
land, laying out the intersecting streets as well. Rev. McLeod
became the first minister, serving as “stated supply” until 1864.
When the first
church building was dedicated, the village numbered only about ten
houses. The rise of the railroad and the consequent influx of new
residents led to surprising growth by 1890. Now a larger church was
needed and a grander church was a possibility. The pastor, the Rev.
Thomas Jefferson Aiken, as a young man had earlier served the church
and now returned to lead this project.
The cornerstone for
the new church, dedicated in 1892, was laid precisely thirty years
after the cornerstone was placed for the first church. Today we
gather to worship in this same building with a sense of pride. The
Presbyterian Historical Society has recognized its historic
uniqueness by including it in the American Presbyterian Historic
Sites Register.
Under Rev. Aiken,
the church sponsored a mission Sabbath School in Paoli whose numbers
grew to become the present Paoli Presbyterian Church in 1899. Long
pastorates were in vogue during the early years of the twentieth
century. The Rev. Dr. J. Charles Levengood preached at Trinity from
1912 to 1940.
Following World War
II, the church removed its cemetery from the corner of Berwyn and
Waterloo avenues into the Great Valley Presbyterian churchyard. On
the Berwyn site, the Rev. John H. Scott presided over building of a
large hall, separate classrooms, a church kitchen, and a pastor’s
study, all completed in 1954.
Two decades of
suburban growth and development culminated in the erection of a new
two-story Christian education wing dedicated in 1973, during the
pastorate of the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Bohl. The facility provided
space for broadened and enriched church educational programs, the
weekday nursery school, and evening use by church and community
groups.
A memorable
opportunity to serve was presented in 1975 when Trinity sheltered 83
refugees, many of them orphans, fleeing the collapse of South
Vietnam. For over two weeks they were housed, fed, clothed, and
provided medical care while arrangements were made to match
community resources with human needs. Freedoms Foundation honored
Trinity and selected Rev. Bohl to receive its Humanitarian
Activities Award. Subsequently, two smaller groups of Vietnamese
refugees were settled and cared for in Berwyn by the church.