The church was founded by the Reverend Dr. Joseph Rhea, who was the pastor of the Piney Creek Presbyterian Church in Maryland. He joined a military campaign in 1776 as chaplain. Serving in Tennessee, he fell in love with the rich farmland and clear streams. He returned to Maryland and motivated the members of his congregation to move to Tennessee with him. Rhea died en route, but his family and many parishioners made Tennessee their new home. Charles Cummings, a visiting Presbyterian from Abingdon, Virginia, encouraged the settlers to build a house of worship, which they did.