In 1887, a piece of R.R. Barrow's
Batey Plantation was purchased and a small church was built. The
area, then known as Bateville, is now called Gray. The first appointment
to the church occurred in 1890, when H.J. Wright (of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, North) was appointed to serve Schriever and "Beattieville."
The congregation was formally organized as the Mt. Vernon Methodist Church
and was incorporated in 1906.
The original church stood until
1909, when it was destroyed by a storm. A new church was built the
following year by Dave Brown under the leadership of Rev. J.B. Wilson.
In 1924, disaster struck again when another storm destroyed the 1910 church.
Once again, a new church was constructed by Dave Brown. In recent
times, the church has been remodeled and the exterior has been bricked.
Source: History of Mt. Vernon U.M.C.; Methodism Along
the Bayou, by Timothy Hebert |
