History
As was usual in pioneer times,
the first meeting place of
Methodists in Somerset was a log home,
which oral history
tells us was on North Vine Street. The exact location is not
known. Before 1830 a Methodist preaching
circuit had been established in the county, with
ten or twelve preaching points,
of which Somerset was one. Biship Joshua
Soule was the presiding bishop and one of the
country’s rural churches was called Soule’s Chapel.
This became known as “The Mother Church” of our
church because so many of its
members eventually joined the Somerset Church.
The congregation created its first church building on South
Main Street in 1846 and it
was called the Main Street
Methodist Church. The lot was donated by Mr. John Curd. In
1866, the minister serving at the time felt that the church
should be divided. So
the Methodist Episcopal Church
(Northern Church), erected a church on East Mt. Vernon Street
on the lot where the Virginia Theatre now stands and this was used until
about 1918. This congregation; however, eventually became reaffiliated
with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, thus coming full
circle. The South Main Street Church (Methodist Episcopal Church
South) continued to grow, and in 1917 under the leadership of Rev. W. L.
Clark, a new and larger building of brick, in the
neo-classic style, popular at the time, was erected on a
lot, at the corner of East Mt. Vernon Street and Central
Avenue. This lot was given by Joe H. Gibson, the
great grandson of Mr John Curd
who had given the lot for first Methodist
Church. The building continued in use until the present sanctuary was
built in 1959 under the leadership of Dr. Ralph G. Wesley. The
first service of this new sanctuary was
conducted by Bishop Walter Gum on December 18, 1960.
A new educational wing was
dedicated in 1975 by Bishop Frank
L. Robertson, Ralph Wesley, District
Superintendent and Harold E. Henson,
Minister. Another educational wing, which
occupies the space of the 1917 structure that was torn down in 1973, was
completed in 1979 under the ministry of Dr. Walton Gardner.
Two acts of unification have changed the name of our church over the years. In 1939, the Methodist Episcopal, The Methodist Episcopal Church South, the Protestant Methodist Church merged to form the Methodist Church. In 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church forming the United Methodist Church.
We have a beautiful symbol on the outside of our sanctuary. It is a tall tower reaching skyward. It symbolizes the trinity, as sets of three’s are used in the construction. The circle at the top represents eternity. You may also notice that at the top of this tower, the cross can be seen from a distance at any angle and reaches out to our community.