The First United Methodist Church is located at 136 Main Street in Woodsfield,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The property was placed on the National Register on 2006-08-09.

History

The first Methodists recorded in Monroe County were reported in the early 19th century. The congregation met in an upstairs courtroom in a log courthouse that stood where the present brick courthouse is today. Needing more room, the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased a lot on Sycamore Street and constructed a simple wooden structure in 1825. This church was the first built in Woodsfield. The wooden structure was an 18 foot high, one story building with a central door framed by a window on either side, with three windows on the side facade. To the left of the church the congregation buried their dead in what is now called Pioneer Cemetery. The congregation again grew to the point that the structure was no longer suitable. The church then purchased a lot on Main Street and constructed a red brick structure in 1834. The old church was sold to the

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

in 1836 but did not survive to today. The church was again experiencing growing pains and built a second larger church on the same lot and was dedicated in 1860. For a fourth time the church was again in need of a larger structure and the church contracted Hubbar, Helbling & Co. to build a new larger structure using the material from the old church. This church exceeded $8,000 to build and was completed in 1899.Elizabeth (McElfresh) Ogden and John Ogden, ''Highlights in the History of the First United Methodist Church of Woodsfield, Ohio'' (Woodsfield, OH: First United Methodist Church, 2004), 218 pp, Over time the church expanded and an addition was added in 1907, and included the church offices and school-rooms. The church changed names in 1968 from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the First United Methodist Church after joining with the United Brethren churches.

Exterior

The exterior features a mixture of the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style and the Late

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

architecture and consists of reddish brown brick on a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

foundation. The belltower features

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

battlements A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

and was added in 1907. The facade contains arched windows; the stained glass windows were purchased by the Busy Bee Sunday School class and were brought into town on the O.R.&W. Railroad. The windows contain the names of the girls of the Sunday school class. The pitched gable roof is lined with slate tiles.

References

External links

News Article on Church
{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Ohio Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Gothic Revival church buildings in Ohio Churches completed in 1899 19th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States