Presbyterians came to this area from Georgia and the Carolinas as early as 1822 and built Philadelphia, a log meeting house, in 1828. It was served by itinerant ministers until 1832, when the Reverend Leander Kerr arrived. The log structure was replaced in 1859 by the present building, Gadsden County's oldest remaining meeting house. Philadelphia served until 1912 as a house of worship, a place of education, and a center of community life. Many Presbyterian churches in Florida and southern Georgia trace their origins to Philadelphia.