As early as 1802, a small group of Presbyterians began holding religious services together in what was then called "Sewickley Bottoms." This group, of Scots-Irish descent, had come to Western Pennsylvania seeking property on which to settle. They met often in homes and barns and, in the summer, under a grove of oak trees along a stream called Hoey's Run. About this same time, another group of settlers established a community at Fairmount, along Big Sewickley Creek, on good farming land. The two groups often met together for worship when an itinerant preacher came to the area.

In 1808, the congregation felt strong enough to ask the Presbytery in Pittsburgh to supply a minister on a more regular basis. The Synod records indicate that in 1812 the congregation had grown to twenty members and that a petition was presented to the Synod indicating the congregation had established a formal organization.

Around 1818, the congregation was able to construct a small church of squared logs and clapboards. By the early 1830's, the congregation was outgrowing the little log church and desiring its own pastor and a larger church building. Daniel Eagle Nevin, a recent graduate of the Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh,was invited to serve both churches. Having secured the services of a minister, the Sewickley congregation requested of the Pittsburgh Presbytery that it be formally organized, and that date, February 17, 1838, is now celebrated as our Founders’ Day. While a new church building was being planned, worship services for approximately twenty members were held at the Edgeworth Female Seminary for three years.

The new brick church was completed by 1840, the pulpit installed in 1841, and by 1843, the congregation had grown to sixty persons. Momentous changes occurred when the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad laid its tracks through Sewickley Bottoms. Membership increased to 235 and a new larger church had to be erected. In 1843, a charter for a new church was secured, to be named the "Presbyterian Church of Sewickleyville." Founding members of the Shields, Nevin, Olivers, and Champ families helped to begin the work for the building.

In 1859, the congregation hired the architect Joseph Kerr to design a new building. The present property at Grant and Beaver streets was purchased and the construction was completed in 1861, with stone donated by Jemima Anderson who owned a local quarry.

From the 1890's and during the following decades, the clear glass windows were replaced with the exquisite stained glass windows we enjoy today. The stained glass artists represented here are among the finest in the country, including John LaFarge, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Charles Connick, and Howard Wilbert. In February, 1996, a new addition, a gift from the Ansby V. Purnell heirs, was added to the church. This addition is now called Ansby Hall.