The First Presbyterian Church of Americus was established in 1842 by Col. George M. and Mrs. (Caroline) Dudley, Mr. H. K. and Mrs. (Catherine) McCay, Eleanor Gibson, May McCay, William J. Patterson, Mary Lynes and Rebecca Daniel. Its first building stood on Lamar Street. That building was sold in 1883, and in 1884 contractor Charles M. Wheatley built the present Victorian-Gothic structure from blueprints drawn by a Columbus architect. It is the oldest existent church building in Americus. Built entirely of materials from Georgia, it features enormous pine trusses supporting the roof and exposed inside the sanctuary, a dark wood ceiling, cream colored upper plaster walls, Queen Anne style stained glass windows, and pine pews with walnut ornamentation. The interior of the sanctuary gives the appearance of an old English sailing vessel. A stained glass window on the south side is a memorial to Louise Wheatley, wife of builder Charles M. Wheatley. The church bell for a time also served the community as the fire bell for the Lee Street Fire Department. It has been rung for Sunday morning worship, weddings and other special occasions, to mark the ends of World War I and World War II, and daily from November 1979 until January 1981 for the release of the American hostages held in Iran. Since 2015 the bell has shared the steeple with a carillon that chimes the hours and plays hymns at noon on weekdays.