Protestant services were held
intermittently in the area, first known as Dugas Prairie in the 1800s.
Records from 1859 list a Lacassine Class of 18 people that consisted of
people that would later form the Hayes congregation.
Some members recalled a Rev.
Joe Berwick holding services in homes there as early as 1885. Meetings
under brush arbors can be recalled from the 1890s. Sometimes services
were held in the one-room schoolhouse. When the school burned, efforts
at building a church were begun. The first church building was constructed
in 1898 with Rev. Robert P. Howell as pastor. It had one room, approximately
24 by 32 feet in size and made of cypress. It was unpainted with
glass windows and a small foot-powered organ. It was the only church
in the area for the next 10 years.
The town of Hayes sprang up
when the railroad was completed between Lake Charles and Lake Arthur.
To position the church in a better location with respect to the town, the
church was moved sometime between 1905 and 1907. Billy Cox used a
logging wagon to move the church to a piece of land acquired from Soloman
Hayes. The building was shared with the Baptists until 1915.
On August 6, 1918, a hurricane
destroyed the church. The Methodists used the new Baptist church
for services for several years after this. In 1926, the congregation
purchased a dance hall (formerly a school building) and used it for services
until 1939. Since there was often no regular minister assigned to
the church, services were random … though Sunday School continued uninterrupted.
With the help of a gift from
Mrs. Ettie Holland Bernard in 1939, a new church was built. The first
pastor assigned to the new church was Rev. Carrigan.
In 1960, the sanctuary was renovated
and rooms (fellowship, kitchen, restroom) were added.
Source: History of Hayes United Methodist Church, Eloi
Primeaux |
