Webster Groves Presbyterian Church

Genealogical Data

The following records from this congregation are available:

Baptisms from 1891 to 1919

Marriages from 1901 to 1973

Deaths from 1904 to 1969

Pastors and associate pastors from 1867 to the present

StLGS is following state guidelines for privacy wherever possible. Births/baptisms online must be at least one hundred years old; marriages forty-five years old; and deaths fifty years old.

Additional indexed data from these records is available. There are also lists of members including some confirmations and deaths, elders, trustees, and deacons. If you are interested, please come to the StLGS office to view this information. As privacy limits permit, society volunteers will post additional data online.

History

Established in 1866

Martha E. Moody led a group of sixteen citizens of Webster Groves, who had been worshiping at the Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, to present a petition to the Presbytery of St. Louis for a new congregation closer to home. In March 1866, after the Presbytery approved their petition, a new congregation was formed and construction began on a small wooden building facing Church Street (now Gore Avenue). Disaster struck the congregation when the church burned to the ground on 1 March 1890 and almost all of the early records were lost. The members rebuilt their church the next year, this time facing Lockwood Avenue, and the congregation continued to grow.

In 1923, the congregation laid the cornerstone for a larger sanctuary. Completed in 1925, the new sanctuary was built east of the old one and became the Elizabeth Holloway Woods Memorial Chapel. However, another fire on New Year’s Day 1958 destroyed the chapel and most of the older buildings, leading to extensive remodeling, including rebuilding the Elizabeth Holloway Woods Memorial Chapel, the adjacent sanctuary, offices, and fellowship hall. Only the bell tower remains from the 1891 building. Subsequently the church has added space for youth activities, a cooperative nursery school (now the Early Childhood Center), and Kids’ Day Out program.

45 W Lockwood Ave.
Photo © 2011 Phil Klasskin
(Used with permission)

45 W Lockwood Ave. (circa 1927)
Photo © 2011 Phil Klasskin
(Used with permission)

Address: 45 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves, Missouri 63119

Telephone: 314-962-9210

Website: http://www.wgpc.org

Location 1866–Present: 45 Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves, Missouri 63119

GPS (Latitude, Longitude): 38.5930478, -90.358542 View map