The First Presbyterian Church of Maumee was organized on January 9, 1820 with 11 charter members. The Reverend John Monteith came on horseback from Detroit to form a new church at Orleans of the North, a small settlement on the south side of the Maumee River at the foot of the rapids. He was joined by two other Presbyterian ministers who had come long distances to assist in two days of organization and installation of officers.

Services of the new church were held in the homes of members and later in the school house. In the early days there was no regular pastor. Ministers came from Detroit, Monroe or central Ohio to preach and give assistance. Session meetings were often held in the home of Dr. Horatio Conant, one of the charter members and for many years Clerk of Session. In the winter of 1828, ice and flooding along the Maumee River wiped out the Orleans of the North settlement. In 1831, the Reverend David Smith was called as the first resident pastor.

The religious education of children was thought at that time to be the responsibility of parents, and such emphasis was placed on learning the catechism. However, a new organization, called Sunday School, was beginning to gain favor, and in 1826 the Maumee Church began its program of education.

Plans for a church building were underway in 1836. When the town of Maumee was laid out in 1817, lots were set aside for church and school purposes. Two lots at East Broadway and Gibbs Street were given to the Presbyterian Church (one of the British batteries stood on that site during the War of 1812). By 1837 a small frame building became the pioneer church of Northwest Ohio. Cost of the building was $600, and membership numbered 27 persons. A year later 45 new members were added. The church bell was cast in Albany, New York in 1835. It carries the inscription "Holiness unto the Lord."

Membership continued to increase as the Miami and Erie Canal was opened from Indiana to Toledo in 1843, and boats began to arrive from Cincinnati. A "side-cut" from the canal to the river brought boats and business to Maumee and Perrysburg. Docks and warehouses lined the river banks. But prosperity for Maumee was of short duration. Soon most business was going to the rival city of Toledo, and in 1852 the coveted county seat was returned there. Many prominent citizens left Maumee and membership in the Presbyterian Church dropped from 83 to 65. Finances were often at a low ebb, and by 1870 it was impossible to meet the pastor’s salary of $900. He asked for and was granted dismissal.

Young men of the community were among early volunteers to help preserve the Union during the Civil War. Members of this church asked their pastor to compose a resolution on the subject. He held that "slavery was an outrage on humanity."

In the early days of the new century the help of the Ladies Aid in raising money was welcome. Many dinners and bake sales were held and afternoons were spent over the quilting frames. By 1905 there was need for younger women with children to have a group of their own that they could attend in the evening. A group called The Gleaners was founded. It continued to be active until 1944 when it became the Women’s Association, as part of the National Presbyterian Women’s Organization.

A manse was built next door to the church in 1910, the pastor having been provided with rental houses prior to that. It was used until 1964, when the pastor and his family moved into their own home.

With the outbreak of World War I, the affairs of the church began to deteriorate. Membership dwindled, young men had gone to war, and the pastor himself resigned to become a Navy chaplain. War work occupied the time and thoughts of those at home. Support was required from Presbytery. The building was sadly in need of repair.

In 1920, the Reverend and Mrs. Elmer Freed accepted the challenge to try to save the historic church. The choir flourished under their leadership, the building was refurbished and enlarged by 15 feet, and membership grew. A basement was dug and the coal stoves were replaced by a modern heating system with pipes under the pews. The new organ installed at that time, was paid for entirely by the Ladies Aid.

During World War II, and again in the Korean conflict and Viet Nam War, young men of the church served their country. And as in World War I, the pastor was called to active duty as a Chaplain in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the second World War.

Further alterations were made in 1949. The chancel was rebuilt; the organ pipes were concealed by a red velvet hanging to match a new red carpet.

A marked increase in the population of Maumee was reflected in a steady growth in church membership. In 1950, a parish house was built at the rear of the church to provide classrooms for Sunday School classes, and a large room for social meetings. The parish house was dedicated on June 24, 1951 and named Griffiths Hall in honor of the Reverend Harry Griffiths under whose pastorate it was built.

An assistant pastor was appointed for the first time in 1957, and in 1958 saw two women elected to the Session. A third floor was added to the parish house for additional classrooms during the period, and the meeting room was redecorated. It came to be known as the Conant Room.

In 1960 the membership approached the 1,000 mark and as more activities were included in the church program, it became evident that a new Sanctuary was necessary. Committees met with the pastor, Dr. Calvin H. Buchanan, to plan the details of the major undertaking. Several properties were acquired on East Broadway and East Harrison streets so that the new Sanctuary could be built on Broadway, with offices and classrooms connecting it with the old church.

On May 25, 1969 the new building was dedicated, and a fine new organ was dedicated at a special service on November 2 of the same year. The original Sanctuary became the chapel. A gift was received for maintenance of the chapel making possible extensive renovation of the chapel and the creation of the Canfield Room in the basement.

The chapel’s basement space had been used as a meeting room – Fellowship Forum, a couples group of the 1940’s met there, dinners were given, classes met, and some rooms that encircled it were the old kitchen, furnace and boiler rooms, coal bin, and under the stairs a storage room for the choir. A men’s class, wanting more quiet for their discussions than was possible in a corner of the general Sunday School area, made a place for themselves in the boiler room. They, unofficially, called themselves "The Boiler Room Philosophers"; they got to be pretty well acquainted with the quirks of the old boiler, too! At the foot of the stairs was a basement door that opened out into a wall with outdoor steps to ground level. At the back of the lot had been a separate building called the session room. It was removed in 1922.

In 1989, the chapel organ, needing more repair and renovation than normally would be practical to pay for, was taken in hand by Fred Schaefer, a member with the interest and ability for such work who donated his time. The chapel organ, with its pipes no longer hiding behind a red velvet handing, was dedicated September 24, 1989.

In January 2004 the church once again became pioneers as they started a new contemporary service that would soon come to be known as "The Edge." This service combines multimedia worship elements with a contemporary worship band.

With the Reverend Philip M. Jones’ installation March 21, 1993, the church has had 51 pastors. Many dedicated members have come and gone since 1820. The history, gathered together in August 2007, salutes all who have gone before and serves as a welcome to any and all who will wish to join us in years to come.