EUM Church building has been standing for 135 years
The United Methodist Church in Elysian will be celebrating the 135th anniversary of the building on Sunday, June 27. Above is a photo of the current church and below is a photo from back in the late 1800s.
A church is not a building! But so much of what a church does and how they are identified is tied to their building that sometimes a celebration of the building is called for.
So it is that the Elysian United Methodist Church is celebrating the 135th anniversary of the structure at 201 Fourth Street NW. The building, much as it appears today, was dedicated in 1886, free of debt.
Originally the building shared the hill where the old brick schoolhouse still stands. The pioneer cando spirit was evident in Ira Myrick who sawed the lumber, in Glyde Swain who hauled the stone, in Edward Barnes and son who built the walls, in Harvey Beardsley and John Chase who directed the project. Two logs from Joe Warner’s place (now Bruce Williams’ north of town) “made all the lower joists, some 1568 feet!”
The building suffered a few bruises over the years. In August 1897, lightning struck the belfry causing a fire which was quickly put out. In the summer of 1972, the ceiling collapsed, and extensive repairs were required. And in 1979 a water main broke under the church causing “many problems.”
Electricity was introduced to the building in 1915 and used to light the sanctuary for a first service on December 31. One hundred years later the congregation used only candlelight for the Christmas Eve service.
The pioneer can-do spirit was in evidence again in 1955. The story is that one winter day, the pastor’s car...
To see more on this story pick up the June 24, 2021 print edition of the LifeEnterprise.
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