History Of Cumberland Presbyterian Church

According to a history of Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the church was organized in 1831, soon after the founding of the town of Prairie Grove.

Andrew “Uncle Buck” Buchanan and his family left Kentucky and settled in the Prairie Grove area. Buchanan, who was a candidate for the Cumberland Presbyterian ministry, organized the Prairie Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as well as a school, but it is not known where each group met.

On Sept. 21, 1838, Buchanan and his wife, Sinai, sold a little over 2½ acres of land for $25 to representatives of the Prairie Congregation for the “use and benefits of a place for the worship of God (,) for teaching school, and for a burying ground for all peoples who may wish to rites their dead there.”

The construction date of the first church is unknown, however a church document refers to it as a log building. Church session minutes from the 1850s and into 1860 show that the congregation called their building the Prairie Meeting House.

During the Battle of Prairie Grove on Dec. 7, 1862, the church was briefly used as the headquarters for Confederate Gen. Thomas C. Hindman on the day before the battle.

During the battle, the church served as a hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers and surgeons with the Southern Army tried in vain to keep up with the incoming injured. Written accounts from soldiers tell of dozens of wounded soldiers placed side by side all around the church and on the floor inside the church building.

After the battle, the Union Army took over and the church was taken down and used to construct winter quarters for federal soldiers in the winter of 1863. There are no records of what happened to the winter quarters when the Union left Prairie Grove but it is possible the buildings were burned.

It is believed the church’s second building, a wood f rame structure, was constructed around 1873 or 1874, and then the third and present building came about 15 years later. According to one letter, a new church on site was dedicated April 20, 1890.

Cumberland Presbyterian began to experience a decline in membership in the latter part of the 20th century. By 2013, it had less than 10 active members and held its last service on March 30, 2014.

Sources: Centennial History Prairie Grove, Arkansas 18881988; Prairie Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church History by Susan Parks-Spencer (August, 2014); A Short History of The Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Prairie Grove, Arkansas by Mrs. Lucille Mast.