3121 Edmund Avenue West
Saint Paul, MN, USA

3121 Edmund Avenue West, Saint Paul, MN, USA

Ninth Presbyterian Church
By Jane McClure

This beautiful and detailed wooden church was built in 1886. Like so many other Frogtown congregations it began as a mission church in 1885. Mission churches were typically started by larger churches although it’s not clear which of the city’s churches spun off Ninth Presbyterian.

The congregation used a small temporary building at Western and Edmund, with 40 people showing up at the first meeting to plan a more permanent building on Edmund.

The church was built at a cost of $4,500. It was dedicated on July 25, 1896, with representatives from the city’s other Presbyterian congregations present to celebrate. The church had a 40-foot corner tower, stained glass windows and ornate woodwork.

The church had a difficult start. The pastor was involved in a scandal and left under a cloud. The congregation grew over time but was never more than a few hundred people. The Presbyterians worshipped at the facility until the mid-1930s.

Other churches used the space over the years, including First Wesleyan Methodist Church. After the Presbyterians left the Methodist occupied the church for the longest time. But it wasn’t unusual for the church to sit vacant for a few years at stretch. It was in use until about 1970 and then demolished.

Cite this Page
Jane McClure, “Ninth Presbyterian Church,” Saint Paul Historical, accessed June 29, 2022, https://saintpaulhistorical.com/items/show/193.