WREG.com

Historic Oxford, MS church destroyed in fire

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A nearly 180-year-old church building in Oxford, Mississippi went up in flames Saturday night, the Lafayette County Fire Department said in a news release.

Crews were called at 11 p.m. for a report of visible flames at College Hill Presbyterian Church on County Road 102. By the time they arrived a few minutes later, they said the fire had spread through the rear of the structure and the attic.

Firefighters were pulled out of the interior as the building’s structural integrity deteriorated. All units were cleared at 3:20 a.m. Sunday.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

College Hill Presbyterian was organized in 1835 and the building was constructed in 1844, according to the church’s website.

The church claims it is the oldest Presbyterian structure in north Mississippi and the oldest church of any denomination near Oxford. Union troops camped on its grounds in the Civil War and author William Faulkner was married there.