When Methodist circuit riders
made their way through south Louisiana in the early 1800's, Pattersonville
(as it was known then) was surely one of their stops. The church
was founded in 1849. An 1860 document dealing with obtaining property
for a parsonage shows that there was a Methodist church in the town at
that time. It is known that a Protestant Union Church was built and
later became the property of the Methodist Church.
In 1881, Mrs. Ann Hooper sold
a piece of land to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Along with
the donation of land from J.P. Muggah, this led to a fund raising effort
towards a new church. The Theatre and Literary Society led by Mrs.
Thompson began raising funds in 1885. By 1888, the church had been
built. The first wedding (of Mr. & Mrs. William Folse) in the
new church occurred on November 26, 1891. The church is made of red
cypress wood set upon brick piers. A number of years after this,
three rooms were added to the rear of the church to serve as Sunday School
rooms.
In February of 1893, a
Women's Parsonage and Home Mission Society was organized by Mrs. F.A. Lyons.
The effort of the society led to the building of a parsonage next to the
church. The parsonage burned down in 1927, taking with it valuable
church records. The present parsonage at the corner of Catherine
and Lee Streets was built in 1964.
Over the years, the Patterson
church has been on a variety of circuits. Although it was a separate
charge at one time, it was put on circuits with Morgan City and Berwick
when those churches were formed. At times it has also been on the
Franklin circuit.
The educational building was built in 1954-55 under
the leadership of Rev. Clayton Bennet. An office was added in 1967. |
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