Ft. McDowell Presbyterian

Our Mission:

Fort McDowell Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest in the community. To understand its history, we need to look back at the history of Fort McDowell.
In the 1800s, white settlers from the East were arriving rapidly. In response to heightened tensions between the Indians and settlers, the U.S. Military built Fort McDowell in 1865. The Yavapai people were among the tribes squeezed by the soldiers and settlers. In the 1870s, Yavapais were rounded up and forced to march to the San Carlos Reservation, leaving behind the weak and the sick.
In 1902 the Yavapais were given 40 square miles as a "reservation." The first superintendent of Fort McDowell and Yavapais living on the new reservation built the Presbyterian Church in 1906. The superintendent had stone masons split common metamorphic rock mined from local sand pits to make the high walls for the rectangular shaped church. Its strong walls have needed only minimal structural repairs since 1906. In 1929, the brush arbor was built behind the church for outdoor services and camp meetings.
Today the church stands tall, beautiful, and ageless within the community.