Fayette County History & Genealogy

History of Fayette County

From R. S. Dills' History of Fayette County

CHURCHES

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The Methodist Episcopal Church at Washington was organized at the solicitation of John Bohran, during the summer of 1817, by John Solomon and Thomas Carr, at the house of Robert Wilson. Through the courtesy of Mr. John Trimble, of Columbus, Ohio, we have been furnished with the following list of ministers that harve preached here since the organization of the society John Solomon and Thomas Carr, 1818; William P. Finley, 1819; Andrew McLain, 1820; D. D, Davidson, 1821; James Smith, 1822; John Summerville and James Smith, 1823; Benjamin Laurence and George Gatch, 1824; Andrew F. Baxter, 1825-6; Z. Westlake, 1827; James T. Donahoe and Jesse Prior, 1830 ; Augustus Eddy and William T. Snow, 1831 ; William T. Snow and Henry Turner, 1832. Name changed to Washington Circuit in 1832. James Turner and E. M. Dailey, 1833 ; E. T. Webster and Lester James, 1834; E. T. Webster and John Rogers, 1835; C. C. Lyhand and J. A. Brown, 1836; S.Clarke and E. Estell, 1837; Eli Truett and Joseph M. Smith, 1838; James Laws and Henry Wharton, 1839; James Laws and B. A. Cassat, 1840; Joseph A. Reeder and B. A. Cassat, 1841 ; John Fitch and O. P. Williams, 1842 Noah Hough, 1843 . N. Hough and Martin Wolf, 1844 ; John W. Keeley and B. N. Spahr, 1845 ; John W. Keeley and V. Beemer, 1846; J. B. Auston and Archibald Flemming, 1847; J. B. Austin, 1848; T. W. Chandler and S. Haines, 1849; Samuel Brown and M. G. Baker, 1850 ; M. G. Baker, S. Middleton, and J. C. Reed, 1851 ; Barton Lowe and H. F. Green, 1852 ; B. Lowe and William Sutton, 1853; Moses T. Bowman and W. Sutton, 1854; L P. Morris and J. T. P. Williams, 1855-6. It was constituted a station, with one hundred and sixty-seven members, and Thomas H. Phillips was pastor in 1868-9 ; Henry T. Magill, 1860-61 ; Isaac Cook, 1862-3; E. H. Dixon, 1864; E. P. Hall, 1865-6 ; J. B. Brodreck, 1867-8-9; G. F. King, 1870-71; Samuel A. Keene, 1872-3; A. C. Hirst, 1874-5; James H. Gardner, 1877-8-9 ; W. D. Chemingten, 1880; T. M. Leslie.

The following have been presiding elders: From 1828 to 1831, John Collins; from 1831 to 1833, Augustus Eddy; 1833, John Ferree; 1834, J. B. Finley; 1836, James Quinn; 1839, M. Mailay; 1841, Z. Connell; 1843, William Summers ; 1847, David Kemper; 1849, Cyrus Brooks; 1851, J. M. Jameson ; 1852, John W. Clarke; 1856, Joseph M. Trimble; 1860, D. D. Mathers; 1861, Z. Connell; 1864, Wilham Porter; 1868, Thomas H. Phillips; 1872, Isaac F. King; 1876, J. S. H. Creighton ; 1880, Wellington Harvey.

After the organization of the society, in 1817, services were held part of the time at the old court house, and a part of the time at the residence of some of the congregation till 1828. In that year the brick school on Market Street, now a part of the residence of Richard Millikan was completed, and was occupied by this congregation for church purposes till 1834, when the brick church on the north corner of Main and Market streets was built. This was an immense structure for a village like Washington in those days; its dimensions, according- to the best authority on the subject, being about the same as those of the present Methodist Church on the corner of Market and North streets. As the walls of this building were considered unsafe, it was never completed on the inside, and on account of its unlinished condition—having nothing but a brick floor, and being without ceiling or plastering—it could be occupied during the summer months only, and in three years was abandoned entirely. From this time till 1845, the society occupied the court house and the Presbyterian Church, when a frame church on Market, between Fayette and North streets, now occupied as a residence by William Weller and E. Saul, was erected and occupied till 1866, when the present church was completed at a cost including interest, of about fourteen thousand dollars. In 1870, this building was repainted and frescoed at a considerable expense, and the house which is about 50x80, is perhaps the most valuable church property in Washington.