(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Churches - Page Four - Methodist Church
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The
first
record
of
the
Methodist
Church’s
ministry
in
the
Alderson
area
is
that
of
John
Smith,
Methodist
Circuit
Rider.
He
rode
the
Greenbrier
Circuit
from
July
4,
1787,
until
July
8,
1788,
and
kept
a
diary
of
his
work.
John
Smith
was
the
first
ordained
deacon
of
the
Methodist
Church
at
Rehoboth
Chapel. His ordination was on July 4 and 5, 1788, by Bishop Francis Asbury, and he established his circuit aided by Bishop Asbury.
This
circuit
was
large.
Beginning
at
Rehoboth,
he
went
across
Peters
Mountain
up
the
valleys
of
what
is
now
Allegheny
County,
back
across
to
Hillsboro,
down
through
Greenbrier
County,
across
Muddy
Creek
Mountain,
through
Alderson,
up
Wolf
Creek,
and
back
to
Rehoboth,
taking
in
Monroe,
a
section
of
Virginia,
Pocahontas
County
and
Greenbrier.
John
Smith
rode
horseback,
alone,
and
he
tried
to
preach
every
day
at
a
stop,
usually at a home of a pioneer.
To
read
the
journal
of
John
Smith
will
bring
tears
to
one’s
eyes.
He
was
a
very
sick
man,
so
sick
he
now
and
then
got
off
his
horse
to
lie
suffering
in
the
wilderness.
He
was
such
a
devout
and
dedicated
preacher
it's
inspiring
to
read
of
his
travels
and
work.
He
rode
winter
and
summer
in
every
weather,
swimming
the
creeks
and
rivers
on
his
horse,
following
paths
and
trails
unfamiliar
to
him,
preaching
to
people
of
every
kind
under
the
most
primitive
conditions.
He
had
two
stations
on
his
circuit
near
Alderson.
One
was
at
Soaps
(Swope’s)
on
Wolf
Creek
and
one
at
Shoemakers
on
Muddy
Creek. He preached once in the Greenbrier Baptist Church.
Two
entries
in
his
journal
give
an
account
of
his
meeting
with
Elder
John
Alderson,
and
they
are
an
excellent
commentary
on
both
John
Alderson
and
John
Smith:
Monday,
Sept.
6,
1787
-
"Preached
at
Soaps
and
on
to
old
Baptist
Preacher
where
I
was
kindly
entertained
he
appears
to
be
no
bigot
but
very
inquisitive"
Tuesday,
October
4,
1787
-
"Preached
today
at
Mr.
Alderson’s
church.
A
Baptist.
The
old
man
was
present
and
show’d
me
great
kindness.
John
Smith
did
not
meet
with
kindness
in
Lewisburg.
The
Reverend
John
McCue,
the
first
Presbyterian
minister
there,
violently
opposed
him
and
threatened
him.
McCue
forbade
his
church
members
to
listen
to
Smith.
Their
confrontation
nearly
approached
physical
violence
by
McCue.
Smith
termed Lewisburg "a little Sodom".
The last entry in Smith’s journal was on July 8, 1788. He was on his way to a Methodist Conference, and what became of him is not known.
Certainly,
Methodism
continued
in
this
area.
The
minutes
of
the
Old
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
show
that
in
January,
1806,
a
Baptist,
Christian
Smith,
had
been
"communing
with
the
Methodist
Brethern,
it
being
contrary
to
the
discipline
of
this
church."
Baptist
Brother
Smith
got
out
of
trouble
with
his
church
by
protesting
he
didn’t
know
it
was
wrong
to
commune
with
Methodists,
and
was
forgiven.
In
February
1807,
Baptist
Joseph
Riffe
had
joined
the
Methodist
Society.
The
Baptists
tried
several
times
to
get
Brother
Riffe
to
return
to
the
fold.
He
did
not
and
the
Baptist
Church
said,
"we
declare
non-fellowship
by
excommunication
of
Joseph
Riffe,
formerly
as
member
of
this
church,
for
his
immoral
conduct,
getting
into
unruly
passions,
fighting
and neglecting to hear the church. We therefore deliver him to the kingdom of the World until the Lord please to give him repentence."
Nat
G.
Barnhart,
a
former
Methodist
minister
in
Alderson
who
wrote
a
history
of
Allegheny
Collegiate
Institute,
also
wrote
a
history
of
the
Johnson
Memorial
Methodist
Church
condensed
in
The
Christian
Education
Bulletin,
July
1956.
His
condensed
history
and
the
papers
of
Joseph
N.
Alderson
are used for this history.
In
the
records
of
Old
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
April
27,
1872,
permission
had
been
given
to
"Mr.
Lynch,
a
Methodist
minister,
to
preach
in
our
church when not occupied by us." The Reverend Jacob Lewis, a Presbyterian minister, was given the same privilege.
The
Reverend
Rufus
M.
Wheeler,
a
supply
pastor
of
the
Blue
Sulphur
Methodist
Circuit,
preached
in
Alderson
from
December
3,
1873,
to
March
11,
1874,
and
used
the
Old
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church.
The
Reverend
Lynch
became
pastor
of
the
Blue
Sulphur
Circuit
and
preached
first
in
the
Baptist
Church, then in a schoolhouse in South Alderson on the corner of Wickham and the lane alongside the present Joseph N. Alderson residence.
The
Reverend
Lynch
organized
a
"Methodist
Society"
of
fifteen
members
in
1874.
These
charter
members
were:
J.
R.
Beckner,
Mrs.
Bell
Beckner,
G.
W.
Graves,
Jacob
W.
Bare,
L.
S.
Alley,
Miss
Mamie
Alley,
Mrs.
M.
A.
Hancock,
Mrs.
Frances
Howell,
Miss
V.
L.
Hancock,
Clark
Howell,
Mrs.
McKinney, William G. Baber, Mrs. Caroline Baber, Miss Virginia Martha Baber, and Miss Bettie Baber.
For
a
long
time
there
was
but
one
Sunday
School
in
South
Alderson.
It
was
held
in
the
Presbyterian
Church
and
Clark
Howell,
a
Methodist,
was
Superintendent, as were most of the teachers. It was called Union Sunday School.
In
1882
a
church
building
was
erected
in
South
Alderson
on
Church
Street.
The
new
church
was
dedicated
October
16,
1882.
The
building
committee
was F. N. Burress, Frank Follansbee, L. S. Alley, and C. K. Sellings. The church was used until October 1917.
In
1911
the
Reverend
G.
C.
Beery
raised
money
for
a
new
church
lot
in
North
Alderson.
After
securing
the
lot,
it
was
not
until
May
17,
1915
that
a
building
committee
for
a
new
church
was
selected.
They
were
S.
R.
Neel,
R.
L.
Johnson,
J.
E.
Keller,
O.
D.
Massey,
and
E.
Chase
Bare,
and
a
fund
raising
drive
was
started.
From
October
1917
until
May
27,
1923,
the
congregation
met
in
Jarrett-Massey
Hall
on
the
third
floor
of
the
Alderson
National Bank, while the line brick church was being constructed.
The
church
congregation
on
May
11,
1921,
unanimously
approved
the
plans
of
the
new
church
and
on
February
21,
1922,
a
contract
was
let
to
Phelps
and
Halloran,
Charleston,
to
build
it.
The
total
cost
of
the
lot,
church
and
pipe
organ
was
$52,452.86.
The
first
service
was
on
the
last
Sunday
of
May,
1923,
and
the
church
was
known
as
Johnson Memorial Methodist Church in memory of J. F. Johnson.(Click on photo for larger view)
Over
the
years
the
Church
actively
supported
the
establishment
of
other
churches
and
chapels.
In
1884-86
under
the
pastorate
of
W.
H.
Wolfe,
a
committee
of
three,
J.
E.
Shields,
J.
E.
Shires,
and
A.
R.
Gwinn,
built
the
Trinity
Methodist
Church
on
Wolf
Creek.
W.
R.
Taylor,
William
Kirby
and
Enos
Reynolds
were
trustees
for
the
Griffith
Creek
Methodist
Church.
In
1889
the
Church
aided
in
building
Griffith’s
Chapel.
In
1912
the
minister,
G.
C.
Beery,
organized
Fairview
Church
with
sixteen
members,
and
a
church
on
Flat
Mountain
was
built
and
used
for
sixteen
years.
Mrs.
T.
W.
Flint
was
the
Sunday
School
Superintendent
at
Glen
Ray
which
operated
for
a
number
of
years
under
the
Church.
Recounted
elsewhere
is
the
long
support
the local church gave Allegheny Collegiate Institute.
The
first
parsonage
was
on
Church
Street
near
the
old
Church,
but
the
present
parsonage
is
on
Monroe
Street
in
North
Alderson,
purchased
from
J.
J. Tait in 1923.
The
congregation
used
its
church
from
1923
until
September
25,
1928,
before
it
was
dedicated.
By
then,
the
church
was
completely
paid
for.
Bishop
W. W. Peele of the Baltimore Conference performed the dedication.
The present membership is 242. Ronald W. Talkington is pastor.
Ref: Journal of John Smith, Methodist Circuit Rider
Christian Education Bulletin. July 1956. Nat. G. Barnhart, "History of Johnson Memorial Methodist Church."
Papers of Joseph Newman Alderson
Greenbrier Baptist Church. Minutes.
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
