Celebrating 150 Years of Christian Ministry

DEWITT FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.Psalm 126:3

Celebrating 150 Years of C

hristian Ministry ~ D

eWitt First U

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For 150 years the torch of

Methodism has been carried and passed from generation to generation in DeWitt. Only dim memories of the early days continue through words passed from old to young about those days long ago when our church was � rst begun, and then begun again and again through adversity and necessity.� e stories of sacri� ce and generosity, hardship, good times and bad times, war and peace, success and failure still linger in the memories of our congregation. And yet, with faith in God and hope for the future, we chart our course for each new era.� is 150th anniversary of the founding of the DeWitt First United Methodist Church is a time to remember, a time to re� ect on the past and those who have preceded us, and a time to celebrate the present. And it is most certainly a time to look to the future with joy, with faith, and with renewed commitment to the service of our Lord.

1868DeWitt First United Methodist Church Established1871First Church Built at North Main and Gibson Streets1902Second Church Built at West Cross and Je� erson Streets1923� ird Church Built at West Cross and Je� erson Streets1925Parsonage Built at Second and Jackson Streets1952Parsonage Built South of Church1968Dedication of Education Building1992National Register of Historic Places1993125th Anniversary and Dedication of New Building Site1994Groundbreaking at Grandview Drive Site1997Sneak Preview Service at Un� nished Sanctuary2000Final Service at West Cross and Je� erson Streets and First Service at Grandview Drive in Fellowship Hall2003Service of Consecration - First Service in Sanctuary2007Dedication of New Parsonage Built South of Church2011Service of Dedication - Burning of the Note2018150th Anniversary Celebration of the Establishment of DeWitt First United Methodist Church

The march of religious progress was begun by the Methodists with the

coming of the � rst pioneers to the new settlement called DeWitt within a year a� er the town was founded in 1853. � e little Methodist congregation here was served by ministers who frequented Arkansas Post. Services were held in homes for a number of years and, when weather permitted, beneath groves of trees. Actually, Methodism got its start in Arkansas at old Arkansas Post in the early 1800s. By 1819 there were enough Methodists to provide a fair-sized congregation. Rev. Timothy Flint, a New

Thomas H. Ware was of a Methodist family and of Scotch-Irish ancestry.

He was born at Talladega, Alabama, March 2, 1846. Th e family came to Arkansas in 1853 and settled in Calhoun County. Th ough he was only a boy during the war, he found his way into the Confederate ranks and rendered most effi cient service. He was converted in 1868. It was a complete revolution. He joined the church, was licensed to preach, and was admitted into the Little Rock Conference all in the same year: 1868. Completely surrendered to Christ, his one question was, “What will you have me to do?” His fi rst appointment was to DeWitt.

Centennial History of Arkansas Methodism

“What will you have me to do?”Th omas H. Ware, 1868

1868Englander, preached in the courthouse there.When the site of the new county seat was settled on, many of the Post’s residents moved to DeWitt. � ey, with the Methodists moving in from other sections, established a church here. In 1868 the DeWitt circuit was organized with Rev. � omas H. Ware ministering in the area. Mr. Ware was converted, united with the church, was licensed to preach, joined the conference, and took the DeWitt appointment all in one year.

Roll of Ministers ~ 1868 Th omas H. Ware 1868 W.O. Lanter

Church services were � rst held in the DeWitt Courthouse. In

late August of 1870 the Methodist congregation began building their � rst church.It was completed in the spring of 1871 and located one block north of the Court Square on the corner of North Main and Gibson Streets. � e church was a one-room wooden structure which some say was torn down in 1900 or 1901.

The usable parts of the � rst building were moved to the

corner of West Cross Street and Je� erson Streets where a new and larger wooden church building was erected during the years 1901-1908. � is new church served the Methodist congregation from 1902 to 1921 when it was destroyed by � re. Several days following the Christmas program of 1921 the Christmas tree was removed

Roll of Ministers ~ 1869 J. Loving 1870 Unavailable 1871 N.S. Burnett

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Psalm 122:1

to the lot just south of the church building and set a� re. A strong wind blew the burning tree up against the church building and set it on � re. De Witt had no � re protection at the time, and very little but the pews was saved. � e parsonage, a large two-story home which stood just west of the church, was also destroyed by the � re.

1871 1902

Roll of Ministers ~ 1872 C.C. Godden

The loss of the 1902 church structure brought about the need for a new

building, and soon plans were inaugurated for a new church. Meanwhile, services were conducted in the local school. � e stately new brick structure was completed in 1923. In 1925, a frame parsonage was built on the corner of Second and Jackson Streets and was the home of various pastors and their families until a brick parsonage was built south of the church during the winter of 1952-53. � e planting of the sycamore trees in front of the church was instigated and supervised by W.F. Schallhorn, Sr. � e � rst service in the new church was led by Reverend S.R. Twitty. In later years a concrete � oor was installed in the church basement and the Educational Building was constructed. A great deal of e� ort from the church congregation culminated in the completion of the beautiful new church with Sunday school rooms and a large basement which provided space for church dinners and public meetings even before the concrete � oor was installed. � e building was paid for in 1935 and the mortgage was burned in the street in front of the church.

1923Roll of Ministers ~ 1874 John M.G. Douglas

There is no chapter in my life that doesn’t include a memory of our church. I am

forever grateful that my parents, Keith and Sheila Patterson, raised us in a home where First United Methodist Church was such a huge part of our lives. Whether we were happy to go, or kicking and screaming….serving the Lord, attending church, and being active in the church were and still are non-negotiables.In the 1980s, I was a young girl attending Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Mother’s Day Out, and the Spring Festivals. I was baptized by Bro. Loyd Perry. I sang in the Carol Choir. In the 1990s, I was confi rmed by Brother Tom. Soon aft er, we started the Find us Faithful project to raise money for the building fund, led by Bro. Charles. Our Sunday School class, taught by Mr. Claude Jenkins, spent hours raising money to buy square feet for the future Brides’ Room. We had bake sales, and walked in and out of the local banks, selling our goods. Every time we raised $75, we presented it to the church. When Bro. Post came, I was in UMY. Th is time was no diff erent, our leaders, Ann Fly and Sheila Patterson made sure we were constantly doing our part to bring the new building to life. As the building became a reality, we folded cardboard boxes to go under the foundation, we painted all the

walls of the fellowship hall, and we helped move from the old church to our new building.In the early 2000s, as adulthood approached, we continued to make progress. Finally, the building was completed, and we worshipped for the fi rst time together in the sanctuary. I was so blessed to marry Gary Padgett in 2004 offi ciated by Bro. Roger Hook. I got to be one of the fi rst brides to use the beautifully designed Brides’ Room, built in honor and memory of Mrs. Mary Louise Shireman. Gary and I have baptized all three of our babies in this church. Th ose are days I will always remember with such joy and gratitude. In the sacred walls of this building, we have also said goodbye to people we love and cherish, our Loma Essex, Jimmie Don Patterson, and our family patriarch, Keith Patterson. Th e people who have paved the way, the children growing up in Christ, my friends that I get to learn and serve with, my elders who I respect and adore with every ounce of my being, everything about this church is one of the greatest treasures of my life. My prayer is that my generation and the generations to follow continue in the footsteps of those who’ve gone before us. Th anks be to God.

~Meagan Patterson Padgett

Memories of Mrs. Mayme BurnettOriginally published in the DeWitt Era-Enterprise in 1973 for the 50th anniversary of the 1923 church building.

How proud we were of our beautiful new church building

which replaced the frame building that burned two years before. (L.L. Anderson was the architect.) Th e sanctuary with its vaulted ceiling and frosted glass window panes boasted a huge black wood burning stove in the northeast corner for warmth in winter and wide-open windows and palm leaf fans provided air conditioning in the summer.Th e beautiful altar chairs were used previously in the one-room church on N. Main Street, where Rawlings Tin Shop is now located, and also used in the church building that burned. Th e pews were salvaged from the burning church and used for several years as was the old piano.

Th e basement had only a dirt fl oor for many months and aft er each hard rain puddles of water had to be covered with planks. But that didn’t keep the Missionary Society ladies from serving dinners during “court week” and at other times when they were trying to make money for a concrete fl oor. Finally, with the help of the men, we got the new fl oor.Aft er several years the church committee provided strips of carpeting down the aisles and across the front of the church to soft en the clicking of heels on the fl oor as the “Saints came marching in” and so as not to disturb the preacher as he exhorted.Th en came three ceiling fans to cool the sweltering congregation. As a result, everyone wanted to sit under the fans. Th e fi rst to come were the fi rst to get served. Other replacements came later for cooling purposes as the congregation knows them today.

Around 1925 E.B. Gibson donated a lot on the corner of W. Second and Jackson Street for the purpose of building a much needed parsonage since the old one burned with the church in 1921. Th e Missionary Society ladies undertook the monumental job of paying for the building of the parsonage. It took 10 or 12 years to complete the payments. Th e money was made by serving dinners, bazaars, food sales, rummage sales, selling vanilla and fl oor polish, having progressive teas and by means of the pennies game. We must have had over a gallon of pennies saved up. One day the banks sent us word to release the

Roll of Ministers ~ 1875 R.H. Sanders

Roll of Ministers ~ 1878 W.J. Rodgers 1881 Unavailable

“How proud we were of our beautiful new church building!”

Mrs. Mayme Burnett

pennies for they were completely out of them. Th e progressive teas went like this: one woman invited four others to a tea, next each of those four invited four to her tea and so on until all the women of the church were included. Each one brought a certain amount of money along. Th ere was no end to the ways we made money.We got our fi rst coff ee urn by serving a certain brand of coff ee in the P.E. Martin grocery every Saturday for two months. Everyone who came in got a free cup of coff ee to introduce the new brand to the public. We carried water from the pump on the Court House lawn and heated it on an oil stove behind a curtain and served cups all day each Saturday. We got our fi rst new silverware for the kitchen by gathering up empty glass quart jars that had held coff ee and sending them to the wholesale house for the coff ee company.W.F. Schallhorn, Sr. instigated and supervised the planting of the Sycamore

trees around the church yard. Aft er the pouring of the concrete fl oor at the church the Missionary Society had their monthly meetings in the basement. In warm weather, with all the windows open

and the breezes waft ing through, it was like walking into a cool cavern. Th ere were always three hostesses to serve the 60-65 members present. At that time the basement had not been partitioned into small rooms and it did look spacious. We only had a small kitchen in the southwest corner of the basement.I was present at the fi rst service in the new church. Rev. Clegg came as pastor in November of that year. Th e pipe organ was given to the church by L.A. Black a few years later. Th e altar railing was provided by Grandma Garot in memory of her husband. Th e communion table and the pulpit were presented by Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Garot and the pulpit Bible was given

in memory of E.B. Gibson by a couple (I’ve forgotten their name) who were living here at the time of his death. Carolyn Baird, baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. N.P. Baird, was baptized at the fi rst service of the new church.Early in the 1920s Mrs. Verne Bowers, a faithful Christian worker in all the phases of the church, established what was known as Junior Church for all the children 12 years and under. Every Sunday morning Mrs. Verne, as we called her, conducted a regular church service in the basement at 11:00 a.m. for many years teaching the truths of the Bible and pointing out the way their lives should go. Many middle-aged men and women in DeWitt and other places can recall Mrs. Verne’s eff orts to point them in the right direction and the infl uence she had on their lives. Surely they will never forget her.Many other wonderful things have been done by the church members, the likes of which might fi ll many books.

Roll of Ministers ~ 1882 J.R. Sherwood

Thought I’d share a memory of my mom and dad’s, Betty and Pat Pattillo,

wedding. Th ey were married on Valentine’s Day in 1940 between Sunday school and church. Th e whole fi rst grade class attended their wedding. Th ey had borrowed a car to go on their honeymoon in Hot Springs. Th eir room cost $7.00 a night. Evidently there weren’t any wedding pictures made. I found this picture of them which was from around that time.

~Robin Pattillo