First Presbyterian Church
Also known as: Friendship Presbyterian Church
Why it's listed
Two blocks from downtown Cartersville, on a landscaped corner lot, stands a brick church that grew out of a congregation organized south of the town in 1843. Friendship Presbyterian moved into a Greek Revival brick building on the site in 1853. In 1886 that building was enlarged into its present Romanesque Revival form, and the congregation took the name First Presbyterian. The front gable has a corbelled brick cornice and three-part stained glass windows, flanked by a square bell tower and an octagonal tower with a conical roof, each holding an entrance. Round-arched openings and corbelled brickwork carry the style along the sides. A multi-sided rear apse with an Akron plan, built in 1907 for educational meeting space, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling added in 1909 reflect later changes. The church is the second oldest surviving church building in Cartersville, after the 1879 Episcopal Church of the Ascension, and is listed for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The church is significant in architecture as an intact Romanesque Revival church building from 1886 and a good example of the masonry churches many Georgia congregations built in the late 19th century. The 1907 Akron plan rear apse and the 1909 barrel-vaulted ceiling are noted as significant design elements added later. It is also the second oldest surviving church building in Cartersville.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 91001157, listed August 29, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 183 W. Main St., Cartersville |
|---|---|
| County | Bartow County |
| Listed | August 29, 1991 |
| Reference number | 91001157 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1886, 1907, 1909 |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in religious use; rear additions were made in the 1940s and 1960s and expanded in 1987-1988. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Within district | Cartersville Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 34.16434, -84.79968 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 91001157.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8563358
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.