In 1904, Rev. F.H. Whatley approached
the town of New Roads with the idea of forming a Methodist church.
Citizens from Methodist backgrounds as well as other Protestants contributed
to a church fund. On November 12, 1904, Leonidas Harrell donated
a lot on the East side of Pennsylvania Avenue to the church. On October
21, 1905, the church was formally organized, with S.P. Higgenbotham as
the President and F.H. Whatley as its pastor. Since it was the only
Protestant church in New Roads, members of other Protestant denominations
joined with the Methodists in attending the church. Shortly after
it was built, a ladies group within the church made a quilt and raffled
it off to provide money for a bell to place in the tower.
At the time of the Silver Jubilee
in 1980, money was raised to fix up the bell and repair the steeple.
It is dedicated to Gene Kimball, who provided the inspiration for this
effort. |
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