We are all so proud of the Coolspring Church’s history and colonial beginnings.  Our congregation began meeting fifty years before the United States became a country!  The founding year of our church is believed to be 1726.  Earliest church records are missing, however, the Reverend William Becket, Rector of Saint Peter’s Church, in a letter dated July 1728, stated that the Presbyterians had two churches in Sussex County, one in Lewes and one at Coolspring.  The estimated population in Sussex County in 1726 was 1,750 people, divided among the following denominations:  1,075 Episcopalians, 600 Presbyterians, and 65 Quakers.

The minister of the Lewes Presbyterian Church, Reverend John Thomson, provided pastoral services to our small congregation until the arrival of Reverend James Martin.  Martin was Scots Irish and had been ordained in Northern Ireland for “Ministry in the Plantations of America” in 1734.  Upon his arrival in America, he was placed at Coolspring as our first called minister. 

The land on which our church and cemetery stands was originally owned by William Penn, founder of the Providence of Pennsylvania.  Thomas Penn, after the death of his father, granted a deed to Reverend Martin and several male members for the land on August 22, 1737. At that time, it was illegal for churches to hold property. 

Three churches have stood on this site.  The first was believed to be a meeting house made of rough-hewn logs.  The second church was built in 1735.  It is shown below in this sketch by one of our members, Robert B. Hopkins.

Our current church was built in 1854 and is a fine example of simple Greek Revival architecture as interpreted by rural Sussex County builders.  It is largely unchanged from 1854 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In October 2026 the church will release a book of church history.  Titled Three Hundred Years of Amazing Grace it will be available for purchase from the church.