There is a church in Versailles, Kentucky that is named the Pisgah Presbyterian Church. In the late 1820s, a group of folks left that church and moved to our area to settle in Morgan County, Illinois. In 1832, they built a log church of their own in their new home and named it Pisgah, after the Pisgah Prebyterian Church where they came from.

The church they left in Kentucky to come to Illinois is still an active church and has been active for over 200 years. Because it’s such a historical church, much has been written about it, so it was very easy to find out that they got their church name from Mt. Pisgah in the Bible, just as our friend, Craig Wood, suspected.

According to a 1878 reference, shared with us by the nice ladies from the Jacksonville Area Genealogical and Historical Society (JAGHS): “In 1832, a log church building was erected by some Presbyterian founders, six miles East of Jacksonville, to which the name Pisgah was given.” Also, “From this church, the station on the J.,N.W. & S.E. Railroad, derives its name.”

So, we now know how Pisgah got its name. There was a church in Kentucky that was named Pisgah, after Mt. Pisgah in the Bible. Some of the folks from that church found their way to Morgan County, Illinois, where they set up a Presbyterian church of their own and named it Pisgah, after their old church in Kentucky, where they were from. Once our church was named Pisgah, the railroad station decided to use the name Pisgah, also, which led to naming the town Pisgah.