The First Presbyterian Church was organized May 4, 1860, by a commission of Knoxville Presbytery as the Old School Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater. Early pastors were the Rev. Andrew H. Barkley, followed by Richard O. Curry, and Thomas R. Bradshaw.
During the years of War Between the States all churches in Sweetwater were closed, and the church buildings were used to house troops, sometimes from the North, sometimes from the South; according to W.B. Lenoir's History of the Sweetwater Valley.
On October 5, 1866, the Old School Presbyterian Church and the New School Presbyterian Church voted to unite to form the Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater. The Rev. George Allen Caldwell was pastor until October 1869 when the Rev. W. W. Morrison was elected Stated Supply. He was followed by Rev. James Anderson Wallace (1872-1889). It was during this period that the present brick sanctuary at the corner of Church and North streets was constructed at a cost of $6,167.85.
In 1889 Rev. Wallace received a call to the Cleveland Presbyterian Church, and he was followed by two pastors each with relatively short tenures: Rev. Donald McDonald (1889-1890), and Rev. E. C. Trimble (1891-1892).
In the fall of 1892, the Rev. J. Lynn Bachman, (head of Sweetwater Military College which later became the Tennessee Military Institute) was asked to "conduct a protracted meeting here for the benefit of students of the College and young people of the town." Which he did, bringing "some 35 or 40 souls into the fold". It appears that he supplied the pulpit in 1893 and 1894, and on May 19, 1895, he was installed as the pastor of the Church, and served until his death in 1919. It was during this time (1917) that the Church Building was remodeled to add new Sunday School rooms. Also, he inspired the building of the Lynn Bachman High School at Farner, Tennessee, although it was not completed until after his death.
The Rev. Robert S. Sanders was called as pastor June 23, 1920, and served until April 1, 1929. Then Irwin T. Sanders, son of the former pastor, supplied the pulpit. On August 25, 1929 the congregation voted to call the Rev. Fred D. Stevenson as pastor, and he served until January 9, 1940. One outstanding achievement during the 1920's was the establishment of the Fork Creek Chapel, which was later organized into a Church in 1972.
The next pastor was the Rev. Dr. Dewey R. Greenhoe who served 29 years, from 1940 to 1969. It was during his service that the Alta Vista Chapel was started. (Later was organized as Presbyterian Church in 1972). The new Christian Education Building was constructed, and L.A. Wood gave the money for the Wood Presbyterian Home.
The next ten years three young pastors served relatively short times: Rev. David L. Waters, (1970-1972), then during the term of ministry of Rev. Sam Harris, (1974-1977) the Christian Day Care Center was begun. He was followed by the Rev. Henry Poole (1978- 1979).
The Rev. Ridley Smith was the pastor through the 1980's and was followed by the Rev. Christopher Noto, who was our pastor between August 1,1993 and September 15, 2002. The church is currently without a pastor.