Presbyterianism in Granville County dates back to pre-Revolutionary years. About 1754, several Presbyterian families moved from the congregations of the Reverend Samuel Davies in Hanover County, Virginia and settled along Grassy Creek in northern Granville County. Their old pastor remembered them in their new home and made efforts to supply them with the gospel. It was through his efforts that the Reverends Hugh McAden, and Gilbert and William Tennent visited and preached in the settlements of Granville and that the Grassy Creek Presbyterian Church was organized between 1750 and 1760 by the Reverend Gilbert Tennent.
Interesting to note is that prior to 1760, the area around what is known as Oxford was famed as a rendezvous for gamblers and sportsmen of all descriptions. It was called: “the place where Satan has his seat.”
On October 23, 1805, Mr. Thomas B. Littlejohn purchased 1880 acres of land known as the Oxford tract. These lands surrounded the court house which had been located at Oxford since 1764.
In 1811, the town of Oxford was incorporated as was also Oxford Academy which opened its doors in 1814. From 1812 to 1817, there were occasional sermons from ministers of different societies and there was a gradual improvement in the moral aspect of the community.
The first Presbyterian church in Granville County was organized, Grassy Creek Presbyterian Church, circa 1750, in the vicinity of the Gela Community and later, moved to Stovall, a small community ten miles north of Oxford.
In 1817, Elder Thomas B. Littlejohn and several other members of the Grassy Creek Church who lived in Oxford, resolved to organize a Presbyterian church in their town. They united with the Academy and employed as teacher and minister, the Reverend James K. Burch from Philadelphia who remained only one term from June 1817 to January 1818.
In March 1818, the Reverend Shephard K. Kollock, DD, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey began preaching at Shiloh and Oxford. In September 1818, the Oxford Presbyterian Church was organized. There were nine members, two of whom, Thomas B. Littlejohn and Levi H. McLean, were ordained elders. For about twelve years there was no building, so most of the services were held in the Oxford Academy. Mr. Kollock preached two Sundays each month in Oxford and two in Shiloh until August 1819, when he accepted the Professorship of Rhetoric at the University of North Carolina.
After Mr. Kollock left, the church had only occasional lay preaching until February 1821, when the Reverend Samuel G. Graham from Bedford, Virginia became minister. He stayed until November 1822, when he accepted calls from the congregations of Grassy Creek and Nutbush Presbyterian Churches. When he left, there were 22 members at Oxford Presbyterian Church.
The Reverend James Douglass came to the Oxford Presbyterian Church in January 1823, and stayed for one year. On June 18, 1823, “a consultation was held at the court house on the plan and size of a Presbyterian Church in this place.” Under the Reverend Douglass’ zealous leadership, these 22 members contributed, in addition to the pastors’ support - $1,000.00 for building a church; $20.00 to the Jews Society; $12.00 to the Education and Missionary Fund of Orange Presbytery, and $13.00 for the endowment of a Princeton Professorship. There was established in the town a tract depository with $50.00 worth of tracts. Eleven new members were added to the church membership. Steps were taken to organize a church at Providence, afterwards located at Geneva. A building committee was appointed consisting of three elders- Messers Littlejohn, Stephen K. Sneed and Dr. W.V. Taylor, who were waiting for Spring to prepare their materials.
The Reverend Joseph Labaree accepted the call as pastor in October 1825. He was a native of New Hampshire and came from Champlain Presbytery, New York; he served for four years. In the Fall of 1825, bricks for the Oxford Presbyterian Church were ready for burning, but the building was not completed until 1830. Mr. Littlejohn practically donated the land for the building, as he deeded the entire lot to Judge Robert B. Gilliam and five others, as trustees of the congregation, for the sum of ten shillings. The first church was built on the site of our present church. It was a rectangular red brick building with a gable roof and a square tower in the back. In 1829, only five of the 34 Presbyterian church buildings within the Orange Presbytery were brick, and all but four had an average cost of around $63.00.
In May of 1830, a call was presented to the Reverend Nehemiah H. Harding of Warrenton for one half of his time at an annual salary of $200.00. He accepted, and was installed as pastor in May 1830. During this year our first church building was completed. During the five years of his service, eighty-seven members were received on profession of faith and nine on certificate of transfer. According to records, three of those members received were slaves/servants: Reuben (slave of Mr. Spenser), March 13, 1831; Adam (servant of S.K. Sneed), March 24, 1831; Harry Ridley, (freed) January 7, 1932. The first pulpit Bible was a small one - a King James Version.
The other ministers who served the church in its first 25 years were:
Jesse Rankin 1835 - 1837
S.J.P. Anderson 1839 - 1840
Jonathan T. Ely 1840 - 1841
Edward Hines 1841 - 1842