In 1844, encouraged by sympathy in America for the birth of the Free Church of Scotland, and impelled by the Free Church’s interest in learning about the American model for theological education, Professor William Cunningham travelled from Scotland to make a tour of the eastern seaboard of the United States. In Washington, D.C., he visited President John Tyler and his cabinet. A Free Church witness commenced with the admission of the Metropolitan Washington congregation in 2003. Offering Reformed preaching and worship near the capital city of the United States, the church is known locally as Westminster Presbyterian Church.