Imagine fifteen Clevelanders gathering here in September 1820 to sign the charter of this, the oldest building on Public Square. Imagine this spot in June 1819, when the Union Sunday School first began meeting here, then on September 19, 1820, when fifteen Clevelanders — about ten percent of the village then — signed the charter that officially established the congregation. It was incorporated in 1827 as The First Presbyterian Society.
In 1834 the first church rose from gray sandstone; its interior boasted a gallery suspended by iron rods, reportedly a first in a Cleveland public building, and the city's first pipe organ. Because it was built of stone it became known simply as the Stone Church, and later the Old Stone Church. By 1853 the congregation had outgrown that original building, so it was razed and a larger replacement was raised on the same spot.
The Romanesque Revival church was dedicated on August 12, 1855, also hewn from local sandstone and associated with architect Charles Heard. Its Romanesque Revival walls, hewn from local sandstone by architect Charles Heard, were dedicated here on August 12, 1855, for you to see today.