Thursday, March 29, the corner stone of the new Cumberland Presbyterian Church here was laid with imposing ceremonies, the following ministers taking part in the exercises: Rev. J. H. Carpenter, pastor of the First Baptist Church; J. S. Grider, D.D., pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Mayfield, Ky.; Rev. E. B. Ramsey, pastor of the Broadway Methodist Church; Rev. Mr. Ungerleider, rabbi of Temple Israel; Rev. W. E. Cave, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church; Rev. W. H. Pinkerton, pastor of the First Christian Church, and Rev. M. E. Chappell, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Paducah. A band discoursed music for the occasion, and the Masonic fraternity, with the beautiful ritual of that order, formally laid the stone of what, when completed, will be one of the prettiest churches in Western Kentucky. Three thousand people witnessed the ceremonies. A pleasant feature of the occasion was the address of Dr. Grider, who made an admirable statement of the history and distinctive doctrines of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, declaring that since the war the church as grown threefold in numbers and tenfold in organization and in all elements of denominational strength. He quoted the New York Independent as saying that in its rapidity of growth in the last decade the Cumberland Presbyterian stands fourth among the churches. The address appears in full in the Paducah News of the 30th ult. Among the articles placed in the corner stone were: The Confession of Faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; a copy of the CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN; the roll of members of the congregation, consisting of 102 names; the names of the members of the present session, viz: M. E. Chappell, moderator; J. S. Hobbs, M. Nance, James Dougal, James Koger, Felix G. Rudolph, John G. Miller and W. T. Kirkpatrick; and the present board of deacons, viz: E. P. Gilson, James Koger and Felix Rudolph.

The heroic struggle which the bold little band has made to erect this house, the completion of which has grown to the proportions of a certainty, deserves more than passing notice. The first effort to establish our cause in this city dates back to 1849, when Rev. R. M. Searcy became pastor of a small organization. A few years later a house was built, under a charter which is still in force in the State of Kentucky. The old house was sold, and still stands, being in use as a residence. The organization thus established was abandoned some ten years ago, but a few earnest Cumberland Presbyterians of the city renewed the effort for a church, and in 1890 reorganization was effected, and effort at once begun to get money to build a suitable house of worship. A handsome lot was bought for $3,000. In 1893 a parsonage was erected and plans drawn for the new church building, and a year ago the foundation of the latter was put in. Lately it was decided to put up the chapel of the building and use it as a place of worship until the church can be built. The chapel will be finished in a few weeks, and it is expected that the entire building will be finished by the end of the year. The new building and of which the above is a picture is thus described by the local paper before mentioned: Its general style is of the pretty and popular Swiss renaissance. Its main dimensions are 57 feet width, 97 feet length, and an auditorium 50x50 feet. Its interior and exterior have already been described at length in these columns. The cut given at the head of this article is a splendid picture of the edifice. A conspicuous and very beautiful feature of the church, the tower, is to be placed on the corner at the intersection of the two thoroughfares. The overhanging eaves, built after the Central European style of architecture, will be a decided novelty in church construction in this city. Beneath the belfry will be placed the main entrances to the body of the building. In the rear of the church proper, but under the same roof and the same walls, the chapel will be located.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, April 12, 1894, page 13 (605)]