Circuit riders probably stopped
in Lake Providence at the beginning of the 19th century. Rev. John
G. Jones mentions stopping at Lake Providence in 1826 with Ashley Hewitt.
They stayed with Harbid Hood. Mr. Hood later offered to give Rev.
Hewitt land and help him build a home if he’d serve as pastor. Rev. Hewitt
was pastor of the Lake Providence charge by 1827.
In those days, meetings were
held outdoors under brush arbors. In cold or inclement weather they
moved indoors to the schoolhouse. On December 22, 1932, Mr. Hood
donated land to the church and the Pecan Grove Church was built along the
Mississippi River east of Alsatia, LA. Church history notes that
Lorenzo Dow was one of the preachers that served the area.
In 1855, Methodists and Presbyterians
formed the Pecan Grove Corporation to build a church to share on alternate
Sundays.
On December 29, 1872, the church
bought an existing structure on Sparrow Street in town for $600.
It was nicknamed the “Meat Market Church” and “the Little Church around
the Corner.” The pastor at that time was Rev. R.S. Tippet.
The Lake Street Church property was bought for $140 in 1887.
Mrs. Emma Saint Ingram donated
her home and property at the corner of Hood and First Streets in her will
(September 23, 1890). Her house was used as the parsonage, and a
new Lake Providence Methodist Episcopal Church, South was built on the
property under the leadership of Rev. T.S. Randle. Dedicated in May
1904 by Bishop Murray, it was a white, Victorian-style frame building.
This church was used until 1962. When it was taken down, its stained
glass windows and altar rails were used in the new church.
The current red brick church
held its first service on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1963. Construction
also included an education building and fellowship hall. The cornerstone
was laid by Bishop Walton on August 11, 1963. Rev. George York was
pastor at that time. The facilities enclose a grass courtyard that
contains a large bell that used to reside at the Willow Point Plantation
in Alsatia, LA in 1827. The church acquired it in 1865 and placed
it in the Lake Street Church in 1887. |
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