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 History of Claylick United Methodist Church

Claylick United Methodist Church is located on the Claylick Church road in Anderson County, Kentucky, just north of the Anderson/Mercer County line.  Claylick is a rural church, but has a congregation made up of rural and city residents, and is fairly evenly composed of both Anderson and Mercer County residents.

This history is compiled from a few records and memories of many people, and may not be completely accurate in every detail.

So far as we can learn, Claylick had its beginning in a log house behind a barn, somewhere on what is now called McCoy Lane.  It went by the name of the Mud Slick House.  From this humble beginning, the congregation grew and erected a log church near Claylick Creek (approximately ½ mile east of the present location).  This was probably the first church to have the name of Claylick.  It received its name from the fact that the clay soil contained salt.  Deer and farm animals would like the clay.  These salt licks were very common in the early days.

We know very little history of the old church.  It has been said that a local preacher and farmer by the name of Aylette Haws Chilton preached here.  He was probably a layman.  The story is told that one Sunday as he was preaching someone told him that his cows were in his cornfield.  He immediately left the pulpit and herded his cows from the cornfield and returned to finish his sermon.  The Chilton name is still a prominent name in the community, with the sixth generation of descendents still active in the church.

In 1871, Mr. Gill donated ground for a church site at what is presently known as the forks of Claylick Church and Hawthorne Roads.  This is the present site of the church.

Mr. Jake Kennedy was the contractor; and with the help of the men of the church, this one-room building was erected.  It was built of native yellow poplar.  The sills were carved out of oak and the foundation was limestone.  The rock came from the Kentucky River.  Mr. Kennedy also built the pews, pulpit and pillar stand for the church.

The Hawkins family of whom Mrs. Lillie Lyens was a daughter, (wife of Dr. J.B. Lyens) was instrumental in building the original church building.  Mr. Jeff Robinson, a youth, carried water, lunches and hot coffee to the workers.  Mr. Jeff’s daughter, Bertie Currens was a Sunday School teacher for many years and a prominent member of the church.  Her husband, Mr. W.T. “Tucker” Currens, was the church treasurer for many years.  They maintained many of the early records for the church.

The old church was surrounded by beautiful trees:  oak, cedar, elm and walnut, which served as the hitching posts for horses while their masters were in services.  The old church was without an altar for many years, until Lena and Alice Short donated material from an old carpet weaving loom to build it.  Mr. Ezra short, a member of the congregation and a talented craftsman and carpenter, built the altar and pulpit chairs.

In the early days Sunday School was held in the afternoon and preaching services were only one Sunday per month.  Claylick was on a pastoral charge with the Methodist churches of Mount Edwin, Tyrone and Salvisa.  In later years we were assigned on a charge with Joseph’s Chapel and Mount Hebron Methodist churches.

The early church was lighted by kerosene lights, then by new, improved gasoline lamps similar to gas lanterns.  These lights gave a very good light for a time; but if the preacher was too lengthy, they would begin to dim before his sermon was finished.  Next, a Delco system was installed that generated electricity for incandescent lighting.  Around 1940, electricity was made available to the rural areas under the Rural Electrification Act.  Claylick subscribed for the service and has been a customer since then.

One of the first projects of our men, even before we had Methodist Men, was our front concrete steps.  They were supervised by Mr. Luther Robinson and built by the men of the church.

The first addition to the church was a six room Sunday School facility and cistern, a basement, and kitchen with running water.  The basement was primarily for Methodist Men meetings.  Hollie Warford, Sr. was the chairman of the first building committee.  Mr. Lon Dean, a carpenter affectionately known as “Dummy Dean,” was employed to over see the building with assistance from volunteers from the church.  The second addition of more Sunday School rooms was overseen by Mr. Lyndon Speaks, a Salvisa building contractor.

After prayer meeting on January 10, 1962, with a temperature of -20 degrees, the church was destroyed by fire from an overheated furnace.  By the help of God and many volunteers, the Sunday School rooms were saved but were heavily damaged by smoke and water.  The old sanctuary was torn down the rest of the way and a new one was built by Mr. Lois “Bud” Short, a local contractor.  The new church would have a new modern sanctuary, full basement, our first indoor bathroom and would be totally electric.  As a result, Claylick was Kentucky’s first all electric church.  During the time our new church was being built, services were held at the Old Hebron Presbyterian Church at McCall’s Spring.  Once again, the church pulled together.  The men bought calves, raised and sold them and donated the profits to retiring the building debt.  The first service was held in the new church on October 14, 1962.

In 2000, Claylick Women’s Circle began honoring women of the church for their service and dedication.  The first recipient of this tribute was Miss Arabella Cox.  The following year, the women began hosting an Inspirational Women’s Banquet where they have recognized to date the following Inspirational Women:  Viola Thompson (’01), Sonia Currens (’02), Nina Poulter (’03), Katherine Jefferies (’04), and Corine Chilton (’05).

In 2004, the church purchased property at the intersection of Claylick Road and Highway 127.  Currently at the site there is a stage, children’s playground and two parking lots.  In the future, the church hopes to build a message board to advertise church events, a softball field, volleyball and basketball courts, a covered area for picnic tables, a storage building, and to put a roof and lights on the stage area.

The Methodist Men have a long-running tradition of hosting an annual burgoo on the first Monday in October.  The men get together early on Monday morning to prepare the burgoo, maintaining the traditions of cooking it outside over an open wood flame in iron kettles, while the women bake pies and other desserts.  This homecoming brings together many generations of both former and current church members.

Claylick is in the Franklin District of the Kentucky Conference of United Methodist Churches.  Claylick was named “Church of the Year” in 1960 and has been continually well-known as a friendly church.  The church family is made up of several generations of the same families that founded the church, and has adopted the motto “A Place for Everyone.”

From its humble beginnings in the early 1800’s, Claylick United Methodist Church has provided spiritual guidance to the community by proclaiming and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Holy Bible.

The space for this WEB Site has been provided courtesy of
The General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church