During 1780 Charleston South Carolina was surrendered to the British, the Americans were defeated at Camden, the Americans won at King’s Mountain North Carolina, and Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point was revealed. During this same year Providence Presbyterian Church (BPC) in Limestone was founded in the North Carolina frontier of what would one day become, Tennessee. In 1780, Samuel Doak gathered the settlers of Big Limestone, TN., into a congregation.
Providence Presbyterian Church is the second oldest Presbyterian congregation in Tennessee, and it is only 20 minutes’ drive from Johnson City, Kingsport and Greeneville. In the historic graveyard lie two soldiers from the Revolution, men who fought in the war of 1812 and the Civil War, as well as a congressman. The present church building is the third building on the site. The first was a log structure, built in 1783, but was destroyed by a snowstorm that left three feet of snow. A fire consumed the second building. In 1849, a stone wall was built around the graveyard and although no mortar was used, the stones were so placed that they have stood intact for these 174 years.
Today, almost 250 years later…. Charleston South Carolina belongs to America, the defeat at Camden is scarce remembered and the American victory at King’s Mountain North Carolina is celebrated annually, and Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point is the stuff of legend. By God’s grace Providence Presbyterian Church in Limestone TN is still committed to the Westminster Standards and to teach the same Reformed doctrine taught by Samuel Doak. You are invited to worship with us at this historic site in a quiet country setting every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.