Twenty persons met in a vacant store on the east side of Main, midway between Sixth and Broadway, on July 7, 1872, to hear a sermon and organize one of Newton's oldest Protestant churches. On March 25, 1875, the cornerstone was laid for a new church on the second block of West Sixth on property donated by the Newton Town Co. The first regular minister was Rev. Nelson K. Crowe. A site at Seventh and Main was purchased for $3200 and included stone and masonry that had been brought in for the proposed Hotel Madrid. The building on West Sixth was moved there in 1901 and was used for services during construction of a new church. It was given a brick veneer and incorporated into the new structure as its chapel. Dedication of the completed structure, which contained a fine pipe organ, took place April 9, 1905. The church was used until a new edifice was dedicated on June 19, 1960, at 900 Columbus.