The collection consists of a photograph of Rives performing a mortgage burning ceremony, interior photos of Garden City Presbyterian Church, and exterior photos of East Nankin Presbyterian Church (the former name of the Garden City Presbyterian Church).
Reverend Richard Robert Rives, Jr. was born in Alvarado, Texas on August 6, 1906 to Richard Robert Rives and Mary Chapman Davenport Rives. He later received his Bachelor of Science from Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College and Bachelor of Divinity from Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Chicago (also known as McCormick Theological Seminary). In 1957, he also received his Master of Arts from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Rives began serving as the minister of the Garden City Presbyterian Church in 1939. He briefly resigned from his position in 1944 to serve in World War II as a chaplain in the United States Navy Reserve as well as aboard the USS Badoeng Strait. In 1947, Rives returned to Michigan and to his church.
Rives was a Freemason and participated in several organizations, including Rotary and the American Legion. He also served on the board of directors of the People's Community Hospital Authority from circa 1961-1972.
In 1972, he retired from his position and was named pastor emeritus. Rives published History of the Garden City Presbyterian Church (1975).
Organized on February 8, 1832 as The Presbyterian Church in Nankin, the congregation was first located at the Cooper School Building on Ann Arbor Trail between Middlebelt and Inkster Roads. The church was renamed the First Nankin Presbyterian Church in 1840 and had this name until 1846, when it was renamed Associate Congregation of Nankin. The church changed its name to East Nankin Church in 1871. Then in 1928, the church received its present name, Garden City Presbyterian Church. In November 2005, Garden City Presbyterian Church merged with First Wayne Presbyterian Church.
