Rev. Jacob Lincoln Cook, founder of what would later become First United Presbyterian Church, got his start as a child selling tea cakes, which his mother made, in the dance hall that would later house his congregation.

Cook, who attended Fisk University in Nashville and performed with the famous Fisk Jubilee Singers, graduated from Knoxville College in 1888 and studied at Allegheny Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA. Upon graduation and ordination in 1890, he returned to Athens and established a Presbyterian mission in the dance hall.

The church was founded in 1889; three years later, in 1892, the current church building – designed in the early Gothic Revival style – was constructed on the dance hall site on Jackson Street in Downtown Athens. Charter members included Dave Logan, George Henderson, and George McKeldin. Other charter families included the Keiths, Lanes, Cleages, Reagans, Gibsons, McGaugheys, Brannons, Evanses, and Cooks.

Furnishings for the church were sent from Pennsylvania, including the ornate rows of seating, which were taken from an old opera house.

The church played a major role in the area’s educational history as the sponsor of Athens’ first black school, the Athens Academy, of which Cook served as principal in addition to his duties as pastor. He remained there until 1900, when he was appointed the first Black president of Henderson Normal Institute in North Carolina.

The academy burned in 1925 – two years after Cook’s death – and classes were held for a time in the church. During that period, a black delegation approached Athens and McMinn County leaders about the possibility of building a black public school.

W.E. Nash, who was an elder of First United Presbyterian Church for more than 65 years, was selected as the first principal of the school, which was named for Cook. Nash served until 1953; he was succeeded by E. Harper Johnson, an elder of First United Presbyterian Church, who served as principal until the school closed in 1966.

Several well-known area ministers were pastors of First United Presbyterian Church. Following Cook’s move to North Carolina, pastors who served included: John Cotton, John Arter, D.F. White, and John Brice. The Rev. C.H. Wilson was pastor for 50 years, serving from 1908 to 1958. He was followed by Henry Cade and Dale Watson. The Rev. Charlie Johnson then served from 1966 to 1982. Gloria Mencer served as pastor from 2000-2004.

After Rev. Johnson retired, the church went through several phases to find a minister. For a time, the congregation became a “mission church,” and seminary students from Atlanta, GA.