In March 1963, the Union Methodist Church held its centennial celebration. For that service, a booklet containing a history of the first hundred years of that church was prepared. The following recounting of the church’s first century came from that bulletin.
In 1863, Rev. Thomas W. Hines, pastor of the Beech Springs Circuit, passed through the settlement in this area. He stopped at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Hoye to discuss the organization of a Methodist church here.
Mrs. Abbey Hoye then made arrangements for the first preaching service to be held in the school house known as the old Kimbrell School located in the area around 211 and 213 Old Decatur Road.
On Saturday before the first service, Rev. Hines, Mrs. Hoye, and Mr. and Mrs. Yates gathered blocks of wood and a load of planks to form seats. Because there was no pulpit, Mrs. Hoye brought an old goods box to serve as a substitute.
The church was organized with only three charter members: Mrs. Hoye and Mr. and Mrs. Yates. Mrs. Hoye served as class leader, steward, secretary and treasurer for four years. Then Mr. Green Walton of Beech Springs was appointed class leader and secretary while Mrs. Hoye continued with the other offices.
The first protracted meeting was held in 1864. In this revival meeting, Miss Ellie McMahen was the first to join the church. Men who were away fighting in the Civil War sent their names to be entered in the church register for membership. Two of these were Dr. W.A. Lewis and Knight Russell.
At the end of the 1864 conference year, the steward petitioned the presiding elder to allow Reverend Hines to return to them for another year. At that time, Beech Springs Circuit was divided and a new circuit, the Decatur Circuit, was formed. Union became a part of the Decatur Circuit, and Rev. Hines returned to Union as pastor. The salary for the first preacher was ten dollars paid annually for seven years.
The members moved their place of worship to the Greenwood Institute, a new school which had been organized on North Decatur Street in the Old Town of Union. Later, a church building was erected near the Greenwood Institute and was used as a Union Church for several denominations. This later became the first Methodist Church when the Baptists built a Baptist Church building near it.
When the railroad arrived in Union in 1905, the town moved west toward it. Then in 1910, a new frame church building was erected by contractor H.J. Williamson at 301 Jackson Road, the site of the present church, and the old church on North Decatur Street was torn down. When the church site was moved in 1911, a Sunday School program was organized with some classrooms built for it. The church building was dedicated that year.
In the early years, a Ladies Aid Society was established to help meet the needs of the local congregation. These ladies were involved in maintenance of the church and the parsonage. In 1915, an organization called Women of the Union Methodist Church was begun. Then when a parsonage was purchased in 1916, the women bought furniture for the home and gathered quilts and blankets for the pastor’s family.
In a Methodist booklet published in 1988, Mary Freeman described the work of this organization of women. These ladies had various means of making the money that they needed for their projects. For example, they made quilts to sell, sold Ann Wade vanilla flavoring, took subscriptions to Hollands magazine, and sold Christmas cards. They also had a big rummage sale once a year. At one time, the church needed a piano. These women went to the Gresset Music House in Meridian and found a $1000 piano for sale; however, they did not have the funds to pay for it. With faith, they signed a note to have the piano delivered, came back to Union, and then raised the money to pay for it.
As the town grew and church membership increased, Union was made a station with Mt. Zion Church at Beech Springs becoming a part of the Union charge.
In 1925, the church building was remodeled into a brick veneer structure with ample educational facilities. George F. Hays and Sons were contractors. The dedication was on February 7, 1926.
In 1940, the Methodist Youth Fellowship came into being. The group met on Sunday evenings with a light supper served in the Fellowship Hall. In addition, that same year the Wesleyan Service Guild was organized. Finally, in 1950, the Methodist Men’s Club began.
The final section of this church’s history will appear in next week’s column. If you would like your church featured in a future column and if you have its history, contact me at teresablount26@yahoo.com or 601-774-5564.
