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Eighty Seven Years Of Toil Marksi CHuge Growth Of Methodist ChurchEditor's Note: The followingarticle was prepared f-’om old records of the church, to he used by Mr. Vincent Brunner in his history of Mishawaka, which is soon to be published. The Enterprise is indebted to him for the use of the material.umd began a general grocery busi- ijness. The husines was sold a number ! i; of years ago, but the building is still j owned by Mr. Eberhart and used for ; ^ business purposes.cThe basement of the Second and1First Methodist Episcopal Church.The First Methodist Episcopal church of Mishawaka has a most interesting history, the first years ofthe church marking an era of self-sacrifice on the part of the earlypioneers of Methodism in this vicinity. The church was practically organized with the town n the latter part of ; 1834 or early in 1835, arid the charter | members were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Tuttle, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Skerritt. Mr. Hard and his sister, Susan Hurd. ; From 1835 to 1900, or in sixty-five years, the church grew from a membership of six to three hundred forty-; five. From 1900 to the present time.ci.1920, the membership has increased: from three hundred forty-five to thir-iteen hundred fovtv-three. The Sun-%; day school has experienced a like 5 growth, now having an enrollment of 1800 in main school. Orphans’ Home ! 150, Cradle Roll 300, Home Department 50, East Mishawaka 00.Mill streets church was completed in ;i1873 and dedicated by Bishop C. IEFowler, during the pastorate of the :Rev. A. A. Brown. Services were ; held in the basement until 1884, when Iilt;the auditorium was completed and jithe organ installed. The front of the | r^ Ibuilding was remodeled in 1907, stone ibeing usee for the entrance. During • ^the pastorate of Chesteen W. Smith, !in 1902, the Annex building and par- jsonage were erected. The Annex was *'planned to meet the need of a build- Iing especially for the young men of jthe city to give practically what the :* ^ «Y. M. C. A. is giving. The late Marn \V. Beiger was the prime mover in the , (*eiMerprise and was assisted bv manv ■ (* *The building was dedicated; inTebi uary, 1903. William N. North- |ooti was the first enterprising secre- i tary. This building was equipped with : library, parlors, reading rooms, dining room, auditorium, gymnasium, and !baths, and for several yeaiV was a J pronounced success. jx-1 X.Xzr■VV\ -* V A-SiL.— .» *. -*•. —j s *The Rev. Richard S. Robinson wasNew Church Erected.ithe first pastor and began his work*1here in connection with a charge inSouth Bend in 1836. The combined membership was two hundred evelen, but this number- decreased during 1837-1838 to one hundred twenty-five, owing to emigration to Wisconsin. First Meetings In Store Building.The first meetings in 1835 were held in a vacant store building and shared with the Presbyterians. The first church building was erected in j830on the west side of North Main street, in about the middle of the block, and was later used as a planting office byHon. N. V. Brower. This building was destroyed by fire in the sweeping conflagration of September 5, 1872, when the entire business district of Mishawaka was burned. As early as 1844, however, this church had become too small and the congregation had erected a frame edifice on East Second street. This was used until 1872 when the large brick church was erected at Second and Mill streets. The EastSecond street property was sold toMr. Louis T. Booth, who used it as a furniture store. In 1884 it was sold to Mr. Frank R. Eberhart, who mover) the building forward, remodeled it,At a time when a great number of repairs were needed and a large amount of money required to put the building in good condition again, plans were conceived for a new building. The result was the splendid church home erected at the corner of Church and Third streets, built during 1911 and 1912, and dedicated on June 16, 1912, by Bishop Edwin H. Hughes. The building was the worthy memorial to Adolphus and Sarah A. Eberhart, erected by their children, Mr. E. G. Eberhart, Mr. F. G. Eberhart, Mr. J. C. Eberhart, and Mrs. Flora Grimes. The structure is. of Bedford limestone; the interior is finished in mahogany; a magnificant Skinner pipe organ; a set of chimes of eleven bells occupy the tower. The stately architecture of the edifice; its chaste and charming dignity; its restful decorative appointments; its worshipful atmosphere, all combine to make it one of the most complete and aidistic churches in the state.] Within two years after the congre-4I gation moved into the new building,4the Sunday school had outgrown its j accomodations, as adequate as they(Turn to Page Eight)
Newspaper Details
Mishawaka Enterprise
Mishawaka, Indiana, US
Fri, Feb 18, 1921
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Sarah P.
USA 07 Jun 2021
Other Publications Near Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka Democrat
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