Originally called Black River Chapel, it is now known as the Black River Presbyterian Church, Ivanhoe, N.C.

Black River Presbyterian Church, whose first pastor arrived from Scotland, via Wilmington, in a boat up the river. Tradition has it that a part of the lumber from the boat was used to build the first church there. Services were held in Gaelic for many years and the population of the area contained many Scotch-Irish.

A cradle of Presbyterianism in North Carolina, Black River Presbyterian Church traces its beginnings to 1740 at which time worship took place in a log meeting house. Members were primarily of Scottish lineage. The congregation witnessed a spurt of growth in the 1770 to 1774 period as more immigrants came to America. Prominent area families were the Corbetts, Devanes, Kerrs, Beattys, Hendrys, Murphys, Aldermans, Robinsons, Colvins, McMillans, and Bannermans.

Black River was formally organized as a church in 1790, the same year that the Reverend Colin Lindsay arrived as its first full-time pastor. Up to that time a number of itinerant ministers had served the congregation on a part-time basis. The church elders in 1790 were Samuel McAllister, Finley Murphy, John Anderson, William Robeson, and Thomas Devane.