 During Brown's tenure as President of the new college, the relationship between First Presbyterian Church was strong, as he was the leader of both organization; it has served as the de facto college church ever since.The fact that he held two positions of authority within the community, as well as personal conflicts, raised the ire of several prominent families in the community.The Reed family, whose descendants later built the Davis Memorial Hall, supported Brown, while Hoge family, relatives of the town founders, opposed him.