In 1840, William S. Townsend
donated six acres of land for the establishment of a church. He have
the Louisiana Conference the title to the land in 1842. An arbor
made of palmetto leaves was constructed and called Union Church, since
Methodist, Baptists, and the Holiness worshipped there.
In 1858, cutting of lumber for
a new church began at Capt. Thomas Gibbens’ sawmill in Port Vincent.
He cut the wood with a pit saw and dressed the lumber by hand. The
church was built near the cemetery and was named Palmetto Methodist Church.
It was used from 1860 to 1900. In 1900, the church received its first
Conference minister. Rev. Cargill made the trip from Denham Springs,
where he lived. By 1911, the church had 92 members.
In 1917, the old church was
torn down and a new one built on the same site. Lamp shelves on the
side walls held kerosene lamps to illuminate the church. In 1928,
the Conference allowed the church to move from the cemetery site to the
present site, and the church became the Walker Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.
A new church was built in 1930
at a cost of $4,500. The parsonage at the old cemetery site was still
used for a time. The church bell is said to come from an abandoned
church in the Frost community.
In 1960, fundraising began towards
a new church. After the existing church was damaged by hurricane
Betsy in 1965, work began on the new church. It was completed on
October 8, 1967. The church was dedicated on June 16, 1974, with
Bishop Finis Crutchfield giving the message. A steeple was added
to the church in 1987.
A new parsonage was bought at
the corner of Stump Street and Wildcat Drive in the early 1970s. |
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