BELLEVUE, Neb. (KOLN) – A church in Bellevue has stood for nearly 170 years, preserving original features that tell the story of Nebraska’s earliest days.
The Presbyterian ministry in Bellevue started in 1850 when Rev. Edward McKinney ministered to Native Americans and white settlers near the river. After the Native Americans were moved onto a reservation in the mid-1850s, white settlers needed their own place to hold services.
Rev. William Hamilton started the church in 1856 after Reverend McKinney retired. Hamilton brought Mr. Joseph Betz from St. Joseph, Missouri to oversee construction the church. The original structure was only a 30-by-40-foot building…