Victory celebrated

As Carbon County became more important to opening the West and people started to put down roots, a congregation of churchgoers started to form.

Dr. Sheldon Jackson founded a Presbytarian church in the railroad town of Rawlins at the intersection of Third and Cedar, the land being purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad for $62.50.

In August of 1869, the Morris Presbyterian Church was created. The building was completed in 1870. The cost was $1,500.

Jackson had accomplished getting the church going.

As time went on and Carbon County had towns come and go, Rawlins was one that took hold. A new church was decided to be built where the Morris Presbyterian stood by the residents to commemorate the town's growth.

The Carbon County Journal Volume 4 No. 2 published on June 29, 1882 on page three, column 4 titled Morris Presbyterian Church said "It has been felt for several years that the growth and progress of the town had made a new church building a necessity. Nothing however, was really accomplished until early this spring when Mr. R. W. Baxter and Mr. D. W. France canvassed the town and secured some $2,900 of subscriptions. A building committee was appointed and instructed to erect a building to cost $4,000. The subscription already obtained, the aid rendered by our board of church erection, and the proceeds from the sale of the old church building, will liquidate the cost, except a small sum which we hope to obtain at some future time, before the building is completed, so that it may be dedicated free from debt. The ladies have kindly undertaken to furnish the building, and have made a good beginning."

The cornerstone of the new building was laid on July 25, 1882. The name was changed from Morris to France Presbyterian Church in 1884.

The church became important to Rawlins and the Carbon County communities, some of which were nearby and some that were not. It built a school attached to the building in 1952.

The Gothic structure was a landmark in the town and the county, and it was put on the National Register of Historic Places.

The church has gone through changes in the 140 years that the cornerstone was put in place. The church's current name is Victory Presbytarian Church and has a new pastor as of March of 2022.

Pastor Mark White has a passion for history and started learning about all about the church's past.

When he realized the cornerstone was 140 years old, he started doing some digging. White learned, his church was the oldest in Wyoming.

"The first church was built in Cheyenne three months before the Morris church in 1869," White said. "But like the Morris church, another church was built in its place and its cornerstone in 1890, eight years later than this one was built. I believe this is the oldest church building in Wyoming. The State Office of Historic Preservation has helped with this research, as they maintain all the Wyoming registered places, and have told me after a strong search, there is no church on the Nation Historical Register of the state of Wyoming, any church older than this one."

White got local help with the history.

"The Carbon County Museum has helped with this," White said. "Copper France has helped us and honestly there have been a lot of people helping me."

White felt with the date approaching 140 years, Victory Baptist should celebrate by having an open house for all Carbon County residents on the day the cornerstone was laid.

He decided to have the open house for two days.

July 24, which is a Sunday and a day before the 140 years the cornerstone was put in place.

Starting at 11 a.m. White will have his sermon which will be from the same text that was read by the minister who was preaching that 140 years ago.

Between 1 to 4 p.m. Victory Baptist will have an open house for those who cannot attend the open house which is occurring on July 25.

"Our open house on the 25th might be hard for people to attend, so I decided to have an open house on the 24th," White said he was happy to celebrate two days, so it would give more Carbon County residents a chance to visit the oldest church in Wyoming. "This is a special place in Carbon County. Residents should be proud it is here. I am."