The first preachers to the area
were circuit riders in the 1830s and 1840s. The Methodist Society
of Greenwood began meeting in homes in 1839. A simple, white frame
church (no steeple or bell) was built in 1840 at 7038 Magnolia Street.
In September 1869, the parsonage
next to the church was bought for $400 from W.W. Harper. The following
year, the church burned down. For over two decades (1870 to 1893),
church was held at the two-story school Academy on the north side of the
school grounds (now a Baptist church). Though they had raised $1000
in the building fund drive, times were hard and money scarce. Finally,
in 1893, a new white from church was built on the original site.
This structure had a steeple with a bell in it.
When the congregation outgrew
the second church, a third was built down the street at Magnolia and Church
Streets in 1916. The first story consisted of classrooms and recreation
space. The pews from the second church were installed on the second
floor sanctuary of the new church.
On September 28, 1928, the church
caught fire. Although it burned down, the congregation carried out
as much as they could … pews, pulpit, and the piano. The fourth and
current church was built on the same site in 1929. The high ceilings
have since been lowered. The 1893 bell was installed in the steeple.
A painting of “Christ in Gethsemane” by H.E. Edgar hangs behind the choir
loft. The church also displays paintings of the second and third
church buildings. |
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