Wintersville Celebrating 200 Years of Methodism | News, sports, work

TO BE REDEDICATED – This 1926 church bell, located on the Boy Scout Camp Scout Reservation in Clendenning, Ohio, has been recovered by the church and will be rededicated during a special service. The bell has been completely redone and will look similar to how it looked in 1926, with some additional improvements. — Contributed

WINTERVILLE — Two hundred years.

This is a milestone to celebrate, especially for local churches that have stood the test of time.

Several places of worship in the Ohio Valley have closed over the years, while others remain present in their communities.

Wintersville United Methodist Church is one such church.

Historian Sandy Day recently announced that her church in the village of Wintersville is celebrating 200 years of Methodism. Moreover, the church has recovered its original bell and intends to rededicate it as part of an upcoming program commemorating both events.

CELEBRATING 200 YEARS AT INTERSVILLE CHURCH — On the right you can see the first church built in the village of Wintersville. The facility was erected at Cmentarna Street. — Contributed

Day prepared a church history textbook for its 180th anniversary. She decided to write a compilation of his story because it provided facts for future generations.

But she had some work to do.

“I found many sources that stated Methodist meetings were held ‘some time before 1828′” she started. “For a historian, this date is out of date.”

So she started this research.

“In 2015, the church history room was located on the balcony.” Day exclaimed. “I went there many times, searching for as much historical data as I could find. Eventually I found a record that class meetings were held in this village as early as 1824.”

The track-riding pastor traveled throughout the region to attend meetings where services were held in homes. The portrait hangs in the Wintersville Methodist Church. — Contributed

1824.

A completely different time than today.

Wintersville wasn’t Wintersville yet.

Many houses still used logs as a building material.

No one had even thought about the concept of a motor vehicle. Dirt roads were intended for horses as a means of transport.

DAY AUTHORS’ BOOK – Historian Sandy Day has been researching the history of the Wintersville United Methodist Church for years. The records and findings she discovered were included in a book containing the history of the Church. The books can be purchased autographed and can be purchased at the parish office for $20. — Contributed

The only thing that has remained constant is faith in God.

The first meeting of the Methodist class in Wintersville was not held in the spacious church.

There was no domed or vaulted ceiling to draw attention to the sky.

There were no large crosses or crucifixes hanging on the walls.

No statues of saints.

No stained glass windows or tabernacle choirs singing in the attic.

The first Methodist meeting in Wintersville was held in one of these small log houses.

This facility was located one mile west of what later became known as Wintersville.

According to records discovered by Day, the house belonged to Isaiah Winters and his wife, Catherine.

Although meetings were held in other log homes, the first was held at Winters, hosting meeting members Robert and Fanny Morton, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Coulter, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Porter, Mr. and Mrs. William Nixon, Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Clark Hall, according to records.

The meetings were led by a riding preacher who visited various areas of the region, preaching the gospel to those who were interested in listening, Day said.

“These preachers came on horseback and traveled many miles along their route.” she stated. “A record was found that they met at Isaiah’s house for about five years. Another record was found stating that his log house was located on Steubenville-Richmond Road. Today’s name of this road is State Route 43.

Isaiah Winters and his brother Isaac are believed to have settled in the area before 1800. Day noted that the exact year could not be determined.

“It is also believed that Isaiah’s log house was located on the site of what is now the Sunset Gardens.” she added. “This is where (my husband) Greg and I have lived for over 45 years.”

Day stated that she had a friend who informed her that when she was a child, more than 60 years ago, she lived in a housing project on Garden Drive. She remembered her friend seeing an old log house near her house.

“It might as well have been Isaac Winters’ log house.” Day commented. However, she added that there is no physical way to prove this.

Services held at the Winter home were usually held on Friday evenings. It is not known exactly how many people were at the meeting, but the gatherings were called class meetings.

“Think about it for a moment…those log houses certainly weren’t huge, but those early settlers in our village found a way to serve the Lord.” Day exclaimed.

“Most people either attended these meetings or rode horses – sometimes more than one person on horseback.” she stated.

Day mentioned that a news item had been found in the February 9, 1831 issue of the Western Herald newspaper. The article states that Isaiah Winters’ son, John, owned city lots for sale.

“There were 40 lots in what is now the village of Wintersville.” she noted, saying that these city lots were located on both sides of the road formerly known as Steubenville Street.

The road is today called Frank P. Layman Boulevard, after the mayor who played a key role in widening the village’s main street many years ago, Day cited.

A man named William Roberts built a small brick church on the site of the historic Wintersville Cemetery.

Roberts chose this particular location because he did not want his wife to have to walk too far to attend meetings. Day discovered that this small religious structure became the first permanent home of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Wintersville.

Day reported that by 1835 these class meetings were formally organized into a church, becoming part of the Richmond circuit.

That same year, the Wintersville Methodist Church was officially established.

According to the census, the village of Wintersville had a population of 107 in 1840, Day said. According to the 2020 federal census, the village had 3,609 inhabitants.

“To become a city, you need to have 5,000 inhabitants,” he added. she said. “This has never happened in our village.”

“I created the history of this church to celebrate the 180th anniversary of this church” – The day explained.

“Church history provides many details about its full history. The book details the early members of these class meetings.” – she continued. “The history book contains the complete history of the church, including the donation of the Pierce/Connelly property to the church in 2015. This property was purchased to provide more space for the Hope Center when it was built.”

The Center of Hope opened in March 2020 — before the world knew about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Day discussed the history book, saying it contains readings from the Historic Methodist Cemetery on Woodridge Drive, formerly known as Cemetery Lane.

The readings concern those who were members of the early Church and those who are buried in the cemetery.

In front of the church’s sanctuary is a painting of a preacher riding a track – similar to the one who visited Isaiah Winters’ home for class meetings.

The painting was painted by a local artist to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Methodism in the village of Wintersville, Day said, adding that the person coordinating the project is church member Shirley Beck.

Current church members who are descendants of early church members include Leland McConnell, whose ancestors included Henry Oliver and Caroline Crawford Roberts; and David Price, who is a descendant of John and Catherine Winters Floyd.

“Dave and Leland’s families were very early members of the early church” – Day exclaimed.

The program will take place later this month, Day commented. The event will include a celebration of 200 years of Methodism in the village and will focus on the rededication of the historic 1926 bell.

“The church we now stand next to was consecrated on Easter Sunday, April 4, 1926.” The given day. “Miss Emma Floyd donated funds for the bell. In fact, it rang the first time I used it.

“This is the third facility now known as the Wintersville United Methodist Church.” Day said.

Wintersville United Methodist Church was the name of the building as far back as 1835, according to a church history she wrote in 2015.

As for the bell, in February 1969 a carillon was added to the church.

A carillon is a keyboard instrument, such as an organ or pedal piano, that consists of at least 23 bells.

The place of the bell, which was no longer used, was replaced by a percussion instrument.

It was then that the church bell was removed. Church officials decided to donate the bell to the Fort Steuben Council Scout Reservation on Lake Clendenning in Harrison County.

Jim Rose, who serves as president of the Scout Council, said that for many years, Scouts and their leaders used a bell to announce when to come to the dining hall and eat.

However, in recent years the bell was no longer used in the camp. Since it was not used, talks began that lasted throughout 2023.

Church member Bob Woods went to see the bell on the reservation.

He informed Day and her husband that they should try to move the bell back to its original residence in Wintersville.

So Days went to see the bell and learn its dimensions. Rose sent a letter to the Reverend Clint Quillen, the church’s pastor, about the bell.

Rose stated in writing that the Boy Scouts of the Ohio River Valley Council and the Fort Steuben Scout Reservation were custodians of the bell for 56 years.

He wrote that the church would have to bear all costs related to moving the bell and renovating it.

Day explained that it took several months.

But they eventually managed to regain possession of one of the first pieces of the current church building.

Day noted that Cline’s Powder Coating in Toronto had restored the bell.

The letter Rose sent to the church will be kept in a three-ring binder in the church history room so that future members can learn what today’s church members did to make the bell a reality again.

“Thank you for being here to help celebrate 200 years of Methodism in Wintersville.” The day is over.

She expressed her gratitude to those who have been and remain faithful to the Wintersville United Methodist Church over the past two centuries.

Anyone interested in learning more can purchase autographed copies of the church’s history. The cost is $20.

Autographed copies can be purchased at the church office, Day announced.

(Most of the information in this article was provided by Day based on her thorough research over the years.)

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