1927: Montreat

In 1927, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States adopted a plan to form a new agency–the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches.

President of the Mountain Retreat Association, Rev. Robert C. Anderson, promised free, fireproof housing to the foundation. All materials and operations were loaded in a box car and relocated to the basement of Assembly Inn at Montreat, NC.

The work of the foundation was funded by a Presbyterial Tax until 1950, when it became receiving proceeds from the General Fund.

The Historical Foundation, from the beginning, operated with a mission to “ gather all available books, documents, and other articles capable of illuminating the history and memorializing the activities of…all Presbyterian and Reformed orders in whatever lands they may have flourished and at whatever times they may have functioned.”