Riverside's Oldest Church Building Still Stands on Magnolia Avenue

Traveling back in time along Old Magnolia Avenue, those traversing the avenue admired the showcase houses built by some of the wealthy citrus growers and businessmen of the city. They stopped, often after riding the Riverside and Arlington Electric Railway streetcar, at Chemawa Park to enjoy the zoo and other attractions or maybe watch a polo match. They might visit Sherman Institute Indian School.

What might have been overlooked is one of Riverside's oldest churches, Arlington Presbyterian Church. In 1879, ten families gathered at the home of Samuel Evans, Sr., and Mary Evans, to discuss establishing a Presbyterian Church in the Arlington area, where many of them had settled.

On Sunday, November 9, 1879, those desiring a church met at the Sunnyside Schoolhouse on Central Avenue and organized the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington. Chester Crosby, one of those early organizers, recorded his recollections: "Mr. and Mrs. Evans drove us with their team and top surrey through a two-inch rainstorm and a foot of adobe mud to the Sunnyside Schoolhouse where we met the other charter members." Not even a torrential rainstorm could keep these enthusiastic people from attending this important meeting. According to Elmer W. Holmes, this group was the fourth church to organize in Riverside. The first was the First Church of Christ in 1872 (later the First Congregational Church). The next was the First Methodist Episcopal Church, also in 1872. The third was the First Baptist Church in 1874. These three were all located in the Mile-Square area of Riverside. A Church Directory in various 1881 issues of the Press and Horticulturist lists the four churches, their pastors, and the times of their services. No addresses were given; the assumption was that everyone knew the locations of these congregations.

The list of the church's charter members reads like a Who's Who list of early Arlington. Included as the charter members were Mr. and Mrs. James Benedict, Alice Benedict, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Crosby, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans, Mr. and Mrs. D. W. McLeod, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rudisill, and Albert S. White. The initial trustees for the church were Samuel Evans, James Benedict, Albert White, Chester Crosby, and Henry Rudisill.

James Benedict and his wife built their mansion, called Casa Grande, in 1878 at 237 (now 7651) Magnolia Avenue. Chester Crosby was an orange grower who lived on nearby California Avenue between Jackson and Van Buren. Samuel Evans was one of the founders of the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company, responsible for developing the Arlington area. Evans built his first Riverside home on Magnolia Avenue south of Madison Street. Henry Rudisill was married to Samuel Evans's sister and served as a director of both the Riverside Land and Irrigating Company and the Riverside Land Company. Although Albert White lived in Miller's Glenwood Cottage, he owned forty acres of orange groves at Jefferson Street and Magnolia Avenue.

Later, prominent Magnolia Avenue residents who joined Arlington Presbyterian church in the early years included the George Crawford family, the George W. G. Ferris family, the Sylvanus Ferris family, and the Ernest Moulton family.

Early in 1880, the new church purchased a 300-by-150-foot lot from Henry Fox on the southeast side of Magnolia Avenue, just south of Arlington Avenue. The cost of the lot, surrounded by orange groves, was $438.24. During the interim, the congregation continued to meet for services at the Sunnyside Schoolhouse.

On January 31, 1880, the trustees held a meeting at the home of James Benedict, where five people pledged gifts totaling $1700 for a church edifice. The trustees planned to circulate the pledge request in the coming weeks to raise enough funds to build. As the work progressed and neared completion, the congregation ordered a Woods organ at the cost of $500, which they felt would be the finest organ in the county. The sanctuary was completed and dedicated on April 24, 1881, at a cost of $4766.90, including furnishings.

One of the first, if not the first, weddings at the new church occurred on September 21, 1881, between John J. Evans (son of Samuel Evans, Sr.) and Jennie Crawford. A parsonage was built just east of the church and finished in July 1883.

During the ensuing years, the congregation changed its name to Magnolia Presbyterian Church. In 1964, the Magnolia Presbyterian Church built a new and large sanctuary. Following the move into the new sanctuary, the old historic building was converted into a fellowship hall. Sadly, the new structure was severely damaged by fire on December 23, 2018. The congregation is back worshiping in their historic structure.

In 1973, the Riverside Cultural Heritage Board designated the original 1881 church building as City Historic Landmark #4. The structure is recognized as the oldest existing church building in Riverside, a reminder of the early days of Old Magnolia Avenue when some of its leading citizens settled and built along the avenue.