When driving north along Highway 1 towards Mendocino, the Presbyterian Church steeple is one of the first structures you’ll see as the town comes into view. At a height of 78 feet, the steeple rises above the structures along the south side of Mendocino’s Main Street, immediately drawing the eye.
A Presbyterian congregation was formed in Mendocino in 1859. Eliza Kelley was among the first members of the congregation, although she would go on to pioneer the founding of the Kelley Baptist Church. A small church was built on the northeast corner of Lansing and Ukiah streets, but the congregation quickly outgrew the building. William Heeser and Jerome B. Ford were among residents leading the fundraising campaign for a new church, and Ford donated a considerable amount himself.
Construction on the English Gothic style building began on October 7, 1867 under the supervision of Albert Maxwell, who also built the C.O. Packard House, the Eugene Brown House, and Mendocino Hotel. $7,000 of old-growth redwood was used in the construction, and shipping costs were not an issue as the wood was milled in Mendocino. The finished nave measures 33 x 54 feet. The ceiling is said to be “constructed like the hull of a ship, turned upside down.”
The original door for the church faced Big River beach and “Old Coast Road” to the south. The now-gone road originally ran south of Main Street and had been the main route into Mendocino from the south. The total cost of construction was $10,000, not including the land that Ford donated for the purpose.
The church was dedicated on July 5, 1868, with the Reverend Dr. Laurentine Hamilton of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland delivering the first sermon.
The building and grounds have undergone changes through the years. The church manse, also built by Ford in the 1860s and located next to his home on Main Street, burned down in 1901. The next manse, known today as Eidsath House, was constructed in 1908 directly next to the church. It too caught fire in 1916, but the flames were extinguished quickly. Today the building is used as offices. In 1957, Dr. Russell Preston bequeathed money to the church for the construction of a recreational hall, known today as Preston Hall.
In 1959 the church was made a California Historical Landmark. It remains the oldest Presbyterian Church in continuous use in California.
Averee McNear is the curator at the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino, Calif.