The Vidette-Messenger Centennial EditionThe 1936 special edition celebrating Porter County's centennial year . . . .
The following article has been transcribed from the August 18, 1936, issue of The Vidette-Messenger, published in Valparaiso, Indiana. This particular special edition focuses on Porter County's centennial celebration and contains a 94-page compendium of Porter County history up to that time.
Return to the index of articles from The Vidette-Messenger's Porter County Centennial special edition.
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso,
Porter County, Indiana; August 18, 1936; Volume 10, Section 2, Page 7.
PORTER METHODISTS POINT TO 101 YEARS OF PROGRESS
Rev. Stephen Jones of Deep River Mission Is First To Bring Creed Of His Church
To New Section
One hundred and
one years of progress -- that is the record of the First Methodist Episcopal
church in Porter county. The church dates its birth from 1835, when Rev. Stephen
Jones, acting under authority of the Methodist Episcopal church, organized the
Deep River mission, which embraced the counties of Lake and Porter.
Rev. W. J. Forbes, organized the first class in Valparaiso in 1840. The first
Methodist church in Valparaiso was organized in 1847 in a small frame building,
and the following year work was commenced on the first house of worship, under
the pastorate of Rev. W. G. Stonix, who left before the building was completed.
It was finished in 1849 under Rev. J. G. D. Pettijohn. That same year a
parsonage was purchased at the corner of Monroe and Franklin streets, but in
1853 it was sold, and a new parsonage erected in the rear of the church at a
cost of $900.
Records indicate that Methodist ministers or circuit riders as they were called
invaded Porter county before the formation of the county and performed
marriages. Two of the ministers were Cyrus Spurlock and Stephen Jones.
The Deep river mission formed in 1835 subsequently became known as the Kankakee
Mission and later as the Valparaiso circuit. In 1844, Lake county was formed
into a new circuit and the Valparaiso circuit only included Porter county. The
mission held its first meetings at Valparaiso, Gossett's chapel, twenty Mile
Grove, Indian Town and at various homes.
Rev. Rihard Hargrave was presiding elder at the time the mission was first
organized, and among the early pastors were Stephen Jones, Jacob Colclaster,
Hawley B. Baers, Samuel K. Young, William J. Forbes, Isaac M. Stagg, William F.
Wheeler, Wade Posey, Warren Griffith, J. Cozad, Thomas C. Hackney, S. T. Cooper,
William Palmer, W. G. Stonix, J. G. D. Pettijohn, L. E. Kent, Franklin Taylor,
David Dunham, Abram Carey and Samuel Godfrey.
Valparaiso was set off as a separated church and organized a separate station in
1852. At this time there were fourteen appointments in the district which
included Valparaiso, Morgan Prairie, Kankakee, Ohio, Hannah's mill, Jackson
Center, City West, Horse Prairie, Hebron, formerly Indian Town, Griffith's
Chapel, Salt Creek, Pennock's and Twenty Mile Grove.
For a while after the Deep River mission was organized, the new Methodists in
the vicinity of the present town of Hebron met at the homes of Simeon Bryant and
Absalom Morris. After the school house was built the meetings were held there. A
regular society was organized in 1837 by Rev. Jacob Colclaster, who was the
first minister to extend his labors into that part of the missionary field.
Hawley B. Beers, Wade Posey, L. B. Kent, William F. Wheeler, William J. Forbes
and Warren Griffith also preached there during the early days of the
congregation. In 1840 a protracted meeting lasting nearly two months was held
and a large number of members were added to the church. Several of the meetings
were held at a school house about four miles east of Hebron. In 1844 a log
church was built and Rev. Warren Griffith regularly engaged as pastor. Fifteen
years later the log building was replaced by a neat frame structure, at a cost
of $1,000. A parsonage was purchased in 1877 and has since been enlarged and
improved.
Seven years ago the church building was rebuilt at a cost of between $15,000 and
$18,000, with members of the Bryant family furnishing a large amount of the
cost. Rev. Richard Pengilly, now of Culver, was pastor at the time.
Rev. E. W. Evers is the present pastor, succeeding Rev. John Ward, who died
suddenly of a heart attack last year.
Pastors since the beginning of the Hebron church were: S. Jones, 1835; Jacob
Colclazer, 1836; Hawley B. Beers, 1837; Samuel K. Young, 1838; W. J. Forbes, R.
M. Hyde, supply 1839; W. J. Forbes, 1840; Isaac M. Stagg, 1841; Wade Posey,
1842; Warren Griffith, 1843; Jacob Cozard, 1844; Thomas C. Hackney, 1845; W.
Palmer, 1846; W. G. Stonex, 1847; J. T. G. Pettijohn, 1848; J. T. G. Pettijohn,
L. B. Kent, 1849; Franklin Taylor, 1850; Abraham Carey, Samuel Godfrey, 1851;
David Crawford, 1852; Supplied, 1853; William Hancock, 1854; George W. Hamilton,
1855; Caleb B. Mock, 1856-57; Aaron Hayes, John H. Cissel, 1859; William Wiley
Jones, John H. Cissel, 1860; W. W. Jones, 1861; Aaron Connery, 1863-64; ---?---
H. Wood, 1964-65; Reuben H. Sanders, 1866-67; Samuel J. Kahler, 1868-69; William
P. McKinsey, S. Hopkins, 1870; W. P. McKinsey, 1871; Franklin Mikels, 1873-74;
Francis Cox, 1875; G. J. Vaught, 1876; L. S. Buckles, 1877-79; David G. LeSourd,
1880; Conrad S. Burgner, 1881; W. N. Dunham, supply, 1883; Merritt F. Stright,
1883-85; John B. Smith, 1886-90; Joseph B. Sites, 1891-94; W. E. McKenzl,
1895-98; Charles L. Harper, 1899-03; John D. Kruwel, 1903-06; Oliver P. Paxton,
1907-11; W. C. Aye, 1912-13; John C. Martin, 1914-15; Francis J. Beisel,
1916-18; J. Austin Lord, 1919-23; S. A. Bender, 1924-26; Richard S. Pengilly,
1927-1933; John Ward, 1934-35; E. W. Evers, 1938.
Among the early settlers of Morgan township were four men by the name of White,
who located in the northwestern part. These four men and Mr. Cornish, with their
wives, organized themselves into a Methodist society and erected a small church
on Section 12, township 34, range 6, where it is still maintained, though for
some years services were not held there regularly.
Two Methodist societies were organized in Portage township about 1837, one at
the Robbins school house and the other on the west side. No church was erected
until 1855, when a small house was built near the present village of Crisman,
Mr. McCool being the prime mover and S. P. Robbins furnishing most of the
capital outlay. After a time the Methodist organization died out and the house
was used for a while by the German Lutherans. Rev. James C. Brown was the first
pastor.
A few years before the beginning of the civil war, a Methodist congregation was
formed at Jackson Center. The old school house was purchased, an addition built
to it, and for many years it was used for church purposes. The church at the
present time is located on Section 21, township 36, range 5. About the time the
Jackson Center church was established a Methodist society was formed at Flint
lake and a small church was built at "Kinney's Corners" on State Road 49, near
the Junction of Center, Liberty, Jackson and Washington townships.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Chesterton was formed about 1860 or 1861 with
Rev. L. A. Grime as pastor. Work was commenced on a church building, but the war
broke out and it was allowed to stand in an unfinished condition for two or
three years, when it was finished at a cost of $2,000. In 1915, a new parsonage
was erected at a cost of $6,500. In 1928, a new church building was begun at a
cost of $75,000 under the direction of Rev. A. E. Bagby. Rev. Henry Brausman is
the present pastor.
Pastors of the church since its founding are: James W. Harris, 1870; David G.
LeSourd, 1871; William Wiley Jones, supply, 1872; William Wiley Jones, 1873-74;
E. A. Andrew, 1875-76; Levi Moore, supply, 1877; J. B. Smith, 1878-80; William
Crapp, 1881-82; Zacariah Lambert, 1883-85; William West, supply, 1886; Arthur H.
DeLong, supply, 1887; Whitefield Hall, 1886-1890; C. H. Jesse, 1891-1893; Henry
C. Weston, 1893-95; John S. Wright, 1896-1897; Albert G. Betch, 1898; Brenton H.
Beall, 1899; A. L. Ummpleby, 1900-02; J. T. Stafford, 1903-04; Calvin O. Smock,
1905; Fred H. Clutton, 1906; Glenn Wishard, John A. Ayling, 1907; J. E. Wilson,
1908; Charles A. Brown, 1909-14; Oscar H. Berry, 1915; Frank R. Briggs, 1916-18;
Henry V. Deale, 1918-21; Alvah R. Lawrence, 1922-24; A. E. Bagby, 1925-1932; J.
Austin Lord, 1932-1934; Henry M. Braun, 1934, present pastor.
Milton B. Wood was the first Methodist Episcopal minister at Wheeler. He was
followed by John B. Adell in 1868. Other pastors were: Brenton H. Beall, 1889;
John M. Dressler, 1870-71; William Crapp, 1872; John Harrison, 1873-74; Orlando
R. Beebe, 1875-77; Andrew J. Clifton, 1878; Granville J. Vaught, 1879-80; J. M.
Jackson, 1881; Conrad S. Burgner, 1882-83; James W. Loder, 1884-85; Frank P.
Blakemore, 1886-87; Robert C. Wilkinson, 1888-91; Alason M. Virden, 1892-93;
Charles L. Leeson, 1896; James H. Worral, 1897-98; A. A. Randall, 1899; Harvey
Waite, supply, 1899-01; Otis L. Chivington, 1902-04; George R. Streeter,
1905-06; Charles A. Brooke, 1907-09; J. Paris Cox, 1910-12; Julian J. Rankin,
1913; Arthur Howell, 1914; W. V. Meredith, supply, 8 months; W. V. Meredith,
1915; Harry L. Allen, supply, 1916; H. L. Allen, 3 months, E. M. Garrett, 9
months, 1917; E. N. Garrett, supply, 1918-19; A. P. Jordan, 1916-21; Dewey C.
Souder, 1922-23; C. L. Glenn, 1925-26; W. P. Blodgert, 1927; Karl L. Darkey,
1928; Ira Scuder, 1929-30; Gilbert Curry, 1931-32; J. M. Williams, 1933-34;
George R. Beally, 1935-36.
The present Wheeler church was built and dedicated on Sept. 30, 1914, by Rev. T.
A. Briggs of Valparaiso. Dr. Brummitt, publisher of the Epworth Herald, and
Attorney Ralph N. Smith, were speakers. Also participating were Rev. Thomas J.
Bassett and Dr. C. A. Brooke, of Valparaiso, the latter pastor of the Wheeler
church from 1907 to 1909, and Rev. J. J. Rankin, its pastor. While the church
congregation went into debt for the fine building, the women of the church for
many years held suppers which were called Harvest Home Festivals. They attracted
great crowds and enabled the church to emerge from its debt load. Rev. George
Beally is the present pastor.
Construction of the present [Valparaiso] Methodist church edifice was started on
July 27, 1886, and the dedication took place Aug. 31, 1887. Rev. C. A. Brooke
was pastor at the time the structure was built and dedicated. The cost of the
building was $23,500.
During 1926 under the pastorate of Rev. Frank Roy Briggs, extensive repairs were
made to the church at a cost of $20,000. The auditorium and Sunday school rooms
redecorated, a modern lighting system and new heating plant installed and new
furnishings placed in service throughout the church. The basement was further
excavated, providing rooms for boy scouts and other social gatherings.
Pastors of the church from its beginning were: With Deep River mission, S.
Jones, 1835; Jacob Colclazer, 1836; Hawley B. Beers, 1837; Samuel K. Young,
1838. With Kankakee mission, William J. Forbes, 1839; Valparaiso, William J.
Forbest, 1840; Isaac Stagg, 1841; Wade Posey, 1842; Warren Griffith, 1843; Jacob
Cozad, 1844; Thomas C. Hackney, 1845; William Palmer, 1846; William G. Stonex,
1847; J. G. D. Pettijohn, 1848; Franklin Taylor, 1850; Abram Cary, Samuel
Godfrey, 1851; David Crawford, 1852-53; Albion Fellows, 1854; William Hamilton,
1855; George W. Stafford, 1855-56; Samuel T. Cooper, 1856-59; Aaron Gurney,
1860; B. Wilson Smith, 1861; Charles A. Brooke, 1862; Thomas S. Webb, 1863-65;
Nelson Greene, 1866-67; George M. Boyd, 1868-70; Leander C. Buckles, 1871-73;
Thomas Meredith, 1874-75; William Graham, 1876-77; Nelson L. Brakeman, 1878-80;
George M. Boyd, 1881-83; Charles A. Brooke, 1884-86; William R. Mikels, 1887-88;
Richard S. Martin, 1889-90; Allen Lewis, 1891-95; Henry L. Kindig, 1895; Hibbard
A. Tucker, 1897-98; Madian H. Appleby, 1899-02; Henry L. Davis, 1903-07; Joseph
M. Avann, 1908-09; J. M. Avann, Chalres A. Brooke, 1910; Thomas J. Bassett,
1911-15; Thomas F. Williams, 1916-1918; Guy O. Carpenter, 1918-1922; Edward W.
Strecker, 1923-24; Frank Roy Briggs, 1925-1932; J. Emmett Porter, 1933-36;
Russell B. Kern, 1936.
In the early days a number of Methodist churches held forth in rural sections of
the county. One of these located six miles east of Valparaiso was known as
Pleasant View church, established fifty-two years ago, was abandoned in
December, 1919, and the building sold to Lane Young. The ground reverted to
William Adsit, owner.
Article transcribed by Steven R. Shook