Those who began the work that grew into the Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church did not realize they were making history, so they were not as careful to preserve the very early beginnings of Finley or their deeds for posterity.  How easy it is for us to forget we are making history while we are living in the middle of it.   

   For a number of years a small group of Presbyterians in Stuarts Draft traveled each Sunday to the Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Church in Fishersville, VA to worship.  Their faithfulness and interest encouraged the Session of Tinkling Springs to establish an outpost in Stuarts Draft, sometime in the 1880's.  Not having a building to gather together, they met in a grove of trees across from Calvary United Methodist Church and brought in slabs of rock to sit on.  Soon a request was made to the Augusta County School Board to use the school on Sundays for worship.  At the same time, the Baptists in this area were also in need of a place to worship.   The school board agreed to let the Presbyterians and the Baptists rotate the use of the school   on Sunday mornings.  The bell of the old school house is still used today at the beginning of our worship service.

   In 1891, Tinkling Springs decided to build and establish a small chapel in Stuarts Draft.  A three member committee purchased the land where our church is still located today from C. H. Cohron for $77.50.  After the chapel was completed, it was dedicated in November 1893.  During the construction and until it's dedication, the pastor of Tinkling Springs, Dr. George W. Finley, preached at the chapel until his death in 1909. 

   On June 24, 1910, Lexington Presbytery organized a new church out of the chapel in Stuarts Draft.  The thirty charter members of the new church named it Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church in memory and to the honor of Dr. George Finley, who had preached at the chapel for seventeen years, for his loving, loyal, and faithful ministry at the little chapel.  Rev. R. W. Boyd was the first pastor to be installed at Finley and he served until 1917.

   The congregation progressed through the years and through several pastoral changes.  In 1929, when James C. Wool was our minister, the present sanctuary and basement were built.  From the later 1930's to 1965, Dr. Thomas H. Grafton (who taught sociology at Mary Baldwin College) served faithfully as our Stated Supply minister part time.  Finley continued to grow and in 1954 added a small educational wing onto the sanctuary.  In 1966, we called Charles F. Speight as full time pastor and the present manse was built on High Street.  At that time, the church had grown to a little over 100 members.

   During the 1980's, new growth in the area combined with the efforts of a talented young minister named Robert Bardin produced a tremendous growth in children's and youth ministries as well as in the size and activity of the congregation.  A new educational wing was proposed, built, and paid for in less than three years.  In the 1990's, Rev. Henry Woodall led an ambitious renovation and expansion project which was completed in 1994 and our congregation and youth ministries continued to grow.  In December 2000, Rev. Woodall accepted a call to First Presbyterian of Wasilla, Alaska, and we called the Rev. Becky Stanley to serve as our interim pastor.  In April 2002, Rev. Dan Matthews accepted a call as our new full time minister.

   As we look back at our history of the past 110 years, it is very clear that Christian faith has no limits.  Strong leadership from the ministers, who have served us over the years, along with the dedicated members, who have gathered together for worship and fellowship, make this church a very important part of our lives.  Only God knows what the future holds for us, but we what we do know is that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be guided to new levels in our faith of Jesus Christ and in our service of His church, and we look forward to what God is going to call us to do in this community and in this world in the years to come.