New Point contains one of the neatest and most elegantly appointed country churches in the state. It is the property of the
Old School Presbyterians. The building is a gothic frame, thirty feet front by fortyfive feet deep, and is crowned with a belfry.
The windows are of stained
glass of elegant design, and the whole presents a very attractive appearance.
The interior appointments of the church are
even more elaborate than the external finish, and are strikingly neat and harmonious in their proportions. A handsome organ
and elegant chandeliers are included in the same. The edifice was completed in October, 1877, at a cost of about two
thousand dollars, largely through the liberal aid of John G. Cowan, who donated the ground on which it stands.
New Point
Presbyterian Church was first organized in Cowan's School House, near New Point, on the 2nd day of September, 1872,
and styled Hope Church. The Rev. Robert Cruikshanks, D. D., conducted the organization, and preached the first sermon.
The Rev. N. H. Smith, first pastor of the congregation was also present. The following members composed the original
organization: John G. Cowan and Mary E. Cowan, his wife, B. O. Cowan, Mrs. Elizabeth Gresham, John Meyer and wife, V. L.
and Hannah Graham, William and Sarah Coburn, and Samuel G. Park. The first officers elected were Elders John G. Cowan and
John Meyer. The congregation continued to worship in Cowan's School House, from the period of their organization in 1872,
up
to the period of the completion of the church edifice, in October 1877.
In November, 1877, the dedication services of the
church were conducted by the Rev. Duncan Brown, of Mound City. The pastors in charge of
the church from its origin to the present time have been as follows: Rev. N. H. Smith, September, 1872; Rev. J. O. Pierce,
June, 1876; Rev. George Miller, October, 1876; Rev. W. E. Williamson, D. D., January, 1882.
