Tustin Presbyterian Church
The Tustin Presbyterian Church was organized in 1882. The congregation’s first church building, a Victorian chapel, was built in 1884 at the corner of Main and C Streets on property donated by David and Mathilde Hewes. David Hewes had come to California in 1850 on the heels of the gold rush and prospered as a business man. They moved to Tustin in 1881 as they felt the climate would be favorable to the health of Mrs. Hewes. Finding no Presbyterian church in the town, they took it upon themselves to purchase a lot and helped raise funds to build a church. The sanctuary was in use until 1928, when the present church was built by William H. Bowman, one of the premier building contractors in Tustin and Santa Ana for over 50 years, in the Mediterranean (Spanish Colonial) Revival style. The bell in the church’s tower had originally been in the tower of the 1884 building.
Tustin, Orange County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt