Welcome to the Long Cane ARP Church Web Site!


And Isaac digged again
the wells of water, which they had
digged in the days of Abraham his
father; ... and he called their names
after the names by which his father
had called them. (Gen. 26:18)

But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a
well of water springing up into
everlasting life. (John 4:14)


   The congregation of the historic Long Cane ARP Church is pleased to welcome visitors to this site. We invite you to learn more about us in these pages. We offer the same Reformed doctrine and friendly Christian  atmosphere that has been practiced on this spot for over 230 years. For those of you who are already connected to us in some way, we urge you to come visit sometime; we are still here. As for the rest of you, we welcome visitors to join us for worship and fellowship in a relaxed, rural setting.
   As Isaac in the Scripture quote above, we expect to find life-giving water in the same place our fathers did. We value the simple Scriptural faith of the original congregation and continue to worship "in spirit and in truth" as they did since before the American Revolution.
   These Irish Presbyterians of Scottish decent emigrated to America in 1764; with their pastor, elders and communicants, never missing services, even on the ship during the voyage. They are one of the few documented cases of an entire congregation relocating to America in this fashion. Most of the group settled in Salem, New York, but a significant portion came directly to the Long Cane area and organized themselves about 1771. Rev. Thomas Clark, M. D., their pastor at Ballybay, in Ireland, moved south to join them permanently in 1782. 
   Located in the center of a thickly settled community during the early nineteenth century, Long Cane and nearby Cedar Springs had over 500 members and were the largest congregation in the area. Significant migration from Long Cane to westward states like Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Texas began circa 1820 and continued for many years. The descendants of this congregation are probably to be found in every state.

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