VCPC History

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Richfield Presbyterian Church 

and School

"The mission chapel was erected in 1880 as a part of the efforts of the reverend Duncan McMillan to evangelize Central Utah. Originally located on the corner of 1st South and Main Street, the building was torn down and rebuilt in its current location in 1937/38. This church also symbolizes a historic decision by the Protestant churches of Utah not to compete with each other in the area where their numbers were few, but united as a community church to serve all denominations."

In 1880 the Presbyterian Board of Missions bought a 4-room house at the corner of 1st South and Main Street in Richfield. In addition to worship, the house was used for school and many students attended as there was no public school at the time. By 1904 the school closed because of the addition of public schooling. In 1936-37 the church was carefully taken down and moved to the present location. The minister himself was an excellent carpenter and built the manse which held services until the church was reconstructed. By 1959 the addition of 125 Native American children attending school during the week increased church attendance and prompted the need for a 400 foot expansion of the fellowship hall.

Valley Community Presbyterian Church is the oldest continually functioning Protestant church in Sevier County. It was honored as a historical site in 1979.

Reverend Duncan James McMillan came to Utah in April of 1875, from Illinois, for health reasons. While in Utah he put his background in Education to work by establishing a network of Presbyterian schools and churches from Malad, Idaho to St. George, Utah. He was instrumental in establishing a school in Mt. Pleasant, Utah that would later become Wasatch Academy. In addition, he was a major influence in establishing Westminster College in Salt Lake City. His systems of mission school provided a free education. His ministry in the inter-mountain west lasted only eight years, but the impact of his work continues to this day.