Brief by Central Staff
Salida History – May 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
We were wrong about the date and cause of the demise of the First Presbyterian Church building at the corner of Third and F streets in Salida. It was in the background of a photo of a Ku Klux Klan parade that appears on a historic postcard sold locally. The back of the postcard, as well as another source we consulted, said that the church building burned to the ground in 1926.
But in fact, it remained standing and in use much longer, according to Ada Jane Melien of Salida, a church member who helped prepare the church’s centennial history in 1980.
The story starts with the platting of Salida in 1880 by the Central Colorado Improvement Co., which was essentially a land-development subsidiary of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. Former territorial governor Alexander Cameron Hunt (namesake of Hunt Street in Salida) offered a free lot to the first congregation willing to build a church.
The Presbyterians took him up on the offer, and erected a frame building at the corner of Third and F streets. They were also generous, allowing other congregations, like the Methodists, to use their building.
As Salida showed some signs of becoming permanent, the Pres byterians decided to build a new church, and their handsome new stone and brick sanctuary was dedicated on June 30, 1901.
It did not burn down in 1926; it was in use when Ada Jane Melien and her late husband Charles (who retired in 1978 as superintendent of Salida schools) moved to Salida after World War II.
“It was an impressive building,” she recalled, “but it was showing its age and it was difficult to maintain. I remember that the church was approached by representatives of an oil company who wanted to buy the property and put a service station on the corner.”
The Presbyterians held their last service in the old church in January of 1957, and then moved to their new church on west Third Street, near Safeway and the county courthouse. The stained glass windows from the old building were installed in the new one.
The old church’s site became home to a gas station, whose building has been extensively remodeled. It now houses Road House Music and Moon Light Pizza.
