History

The Northfield Presbyterian Church was founded in 1832, one of the first two churches in what is now Northfield Center, and it stood where the Northfield library now stands. That congregation was affiliated with the "Old U.P. Church", the United Presbyterian Church in North America. On the corner of Route 82 and Olde Eight Road facing the square was another congregation, a Congregational-Presbyterian Church whose original members descended from Scotland, as did the U.P. congregation. It became known as the Church on the Park.

In the post Civil War era, the U.P. church thrived, but the Church on the Park fell into hard times and closed in 1914, only to reopen as a Federated Church the following year. The Federated Church was a federation of Presbyterians and Methodists under one roof and alternating denominations with each pastoral change. This lasted for 37 years until the congregation became Park Presbyterian in 1952. In 1956 the more conservative United Presbyterian Church and the Park Presbyterian (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A) merged. Two years later in 1958 the two denominations merged forming the UPCUSA.

The growth of the church followed the growth of the community and it became apparent that plans for growth needed to be made. For a short time worship was held in the Park Church sanctuary and Sunday School was being held in the U.P. Church building two hundred yards up the road. Property was purchased on the corner of Boyden Road and Rt. 82 and the education building was put up in 1961. On October 31, 1963 the Park Sanctuary was relocated in a nine-hour move in the rain. The third phase of the building plan was completed in 1977 with the addition of the connecting building between the sanctuary and the education building.

Today we worship in a sanctuary made holy by continuous worship since 1842. It has been remodeled and redecorated to accommodate modern technology and comfort while retaining the charm of 19th century architecture.