A History of Monkton UMC

Below is the retyped text from the booklet, "The First Hundred Years 1870 - 1970" by Otha L. Wilhelm and Lucille Curtis.

Our thanks to Barbara Rinehimer, Laura Schulze, and George Drake for typing this text and placing it on the Web.

Table of Contents
Introduction - The First Hundred Years
Chapter I.- Structure of the Church
      Connectional
      Mergers
     The Baltimore Conference
     Development of the Monkton Circuit
     Ministers Who Have Served at Monkton
Chapter II. The Church
     Building the Church
     Renovations and Maintenance
     Financial Legacies
     Furnishings - Past and Present
Chapter III. Church Life
     The Sunday School
     Youth Organizations
     Women's Organizations
     Trustees
     Music in the Church
     Camp Meetings
     Protracted and Revival Meetings
     Rally Days
     Vacation Bible School
     Ministerial Association
     Church Newspapers
     Scouting
Chapter IV. Church Hall and Educational Building
     The Old Church Hall
     The New Educational Building
Chapter V. The Parsonage and the Cemetery
     The Parsonage
     The Cemetery
Chapter VI. The Centennial Celebration
Chapter VII. Still Remembered
Epilog
Sketch of 1970-1980
Sketch of 1980-1990

"The First Hundred Years
1870 - 1970
Monkton United Methodist Church"

by Otha L. Wilhelm and Lucille Curtis

1870 - 2000 - a hundred and thirty years! What was the world like in the early years of the church? No electricity and no telephones, no radio and no television, and certainly no internet. But Monktonites could easily keep up with U.S. and world affairs. The Sun arrived daily by train up the Northern Central Railroad, not yet called the Pennsy, let alone the Penn-Central. The Maryland Journal - a weekly out of Towson and an ancestor of The Jeffersonian - covered world and national events as well as state and county items, as did several other papers from Towson. Harper's, which arrived monthly, always had sections on the goings on in Washington, the rest of the United Sates, and the world at large.

When we broke ground for the church, the war between the states was only five years behind us, and reminders of that holocaust were all around. Ulysses S. Grant was in the White House. Jefferson Davis' children were in school over in Harford County. 1870 saw the third official observance of Memorial Day.

In Monkton, you had to be very young not to remember the 1861 antiwar riots in Baltimore that led to a 5-year military occupation of that town by Federal troops; Southern sympathizers also wrecked the railroad trestle north of Cockeysville to disrupt north-south rail traffic. It was said that from the roof of the Clynmalira Manor house, you could see the red reflection in the sky when Richmond was burning. Even the very young listened to stories of the war told according to the local veterans. And, once the church was built, there were times before and after services when men almost came to blows over their views on the late war. Usually, some level-headed person such as Mrs. Ira Tipton had to calm them down. Some must have wondered if the war was really over.

The late war was not the only topic of conversation, however. France and Germany were fighting again in 1870, this time Napoleon III against Bismarck. King Victor Emmanuel II had just taken Rome in the name of the "Kingdom of Italy."

On the nonviolent side, we had now had a transcontinental railroad for over a year, and the west was really opening up. The Maryland Journal reported that two new inventions, "baseball" and the "velocipede," were interesting, and that the velocipede was even a well-built machine, but both were obviously just passing fads.

Closer to home, Riderwood was known as Rider's Switch. Milton Inn was still Milton Academy which, it was said, John Wilkes Booth, or his brother, Edwin, or both, at one time attended, a not unreasonable assumption since both were born in or near Belair. Daniel Z. Cranmer, constable of White Hall, had just announced a new stage line service between Jarrettsville and White Hall. Plans were underway for a railroad between Parkton and Manchester.

At Glencoe, Sparks, and Phoenix, the Falls was regularly overflowing its banks with every heavy rain. Surly, remarked a reader in a letter to the editor of the Journal, those politicians in Towson could do something about it if only they would. They just did not seem to realize how the flooding interrupted travel.

One of the arguments for Monkton building its own Methodist church was the condition of the roads. The roads, dirt, of course, were often impassable, not just during flooding and snowstorms, but whenever there was a good rain. At the time, contractors would bid on "buying" a specific section of a road for a period of five years. The successful bidder would then be responsible for keeping the section in good repair, evidently quite a problem if the constant complaints in the local papers were any indication. The Monkton-Wesley Chapel road seems to have come in form more than its share of the criticism. With the roads so unreliable, going to church at Hereford, Clynmalira, or one of the other churches on the local circuit depended almost entirely on the weather and the state of the roads. One solution was to have the "church" come to the people. Prayer meetings and occasional preaching services were held in the homes and in the public school. The first known regular services were conducted by preachers of the old Shrewsbury Circuit which extended as far south as the Parkton area. The preachers came down, presumedly by train, and held services every other week in the station passenger room or in the Miller Hotel. This solution was, of course, only semi-satisfactory. That the Methodists in Monkton really needed was their own church.

The Monkton public school, long located near the top of the hill going toward Hereford, was closed, and a new school built across from Monkton M.E. Church, was ready for use in 1873.

During the early history of our church, many of the towns and villages in northern Baltimore County sent regular reports to the Maryland Journal, giving the local news. Sometimes signed "H," sometimes "J.F.H.," the reports on Monkton begin in the 30 June 1874 issue of the paper and give an interesting picture of what the village was like. "H" can almost be called an unofficial member of our History Committee. He faithfully reported not only the happenings of Monkton itself, but also those of the church. It was not until we read the 1902 issues of the Journal that we found out who our faithful correspondent was. In a February issue, the paper stated that the Monkton reporter was ill, and an April issue recorded his death. "H" was Justice John F. Heisse, born in Darmstadt, Germany, and a resident of Monkton for fifty years. He had married Rebecca Ann Cuddy and they had six children, the Rev. J. Fred, Edwin, Albert, Anna May, James, and R. Belle. During his illness he became a probationer of the Monkton M.E. Church. His funeral was held in Monkton Church and he was buried at Wesley Chapel.

Mr. Heisse's first report on Monkton reads as follows:

"Mr. Editor, Having nothing to do in particular just now to occupy my mind, I thought I would lay all worldly care to one side, pick up my pen, and scratch a few lines for your valuable paper. Monkton, as you are aware, is about 23 miles from Baltimore, on the Northern Central Railway and as tradition has it, derived its name from Lord Monkton, but no one is certain about this. It is bounded on the west by the Great Gunpowder Falls, and on the east by Merryman's Branch, north and south have no boundarys except hills so you will see it is not likely that we shall form any rings in order to obtain a belt of more territory for the extension of our town. The principal business carried on here is the store and hotel, conducted by Mr. Samuel Miller, but he complains of dull times and scarcity of money. There is also a blacksmith, wheelwright and saddler shop in this place doing a good business. The staple exports from this place are milk and cream. This business was started some 25 years ago by Mr. John Bacon, and has grown to such an extent that you can now see, every morning, from 18 to 20 wagons shipping the product of the cow by early train to Baltimore. But I am told that this business, and particularly cream, is also dull now, and the demands are not as large as could be desired at this season for the year, hence the sour looks of our worthy clerk. I have noticed for several days past that he is not in the best of humor - and no wonder he should be unhappy, because first, dullness of cream, second, there is a large wheat crop ready for the reaper that is hard work in this hot weather, and thirdly the potato bug. Oh my - that fellow is playing smash with our potatoes. Speaking about that bug, a few mornings ago I cam in from the potato patch complaining bitterly about the ravages of that bug, my wife (although very pious, particularly on Sundays, yet not having always the fear of the Lord before her on work days) immediately made a dive for her sunbonnet and a bucket and out she went in great wrath and indignation. I stopped in fear and trembling for sometime, when finally I picked up courage and followed out, and low and behold she had about a gallon of those little pests safely housed, not in her bonnet, but in the bucket. I meekly asked her if they were intended for pies or custard, when O goody! I tremble to think about it, that bonnet came toward me in greater haste than I cared about and a voice shouted such as woman can only shout, "Get out!" and I got out, you bet! I never stopped till I got to a safe distance then I sat down on a log and meditated about women and their sunbonnets, and came to the conclusion that men have no business to fool with them when they are catching potato bugs. They are certainly very destructive, (I mean the bugs). The only way we get rid of them is to catch them in pans by holding the pans under the vines and shaking them in, and then pour hot water on them. We are clear of them now, but the vines are very much riddled and look bad, and together with the dry weather I fear the crop will be a small one.

On last Fri. afternoon, the children of the Monkton School held their first examination. This school is in charge of that able teacher, Miss Louisa McBride. There were no gentlemen present, but a goodly number of ladies, among them my faithful reporter, sunbonnet. (Mr. Editor, please don't tell her as I am very anxious and fearful about the top of my head, and desire to keep peace in the family) Well, the children acquitted themselves splendidly in their lessons, and done wonders in eating ice cream, cakes and candies, kindly furnished by their beloved teacher. Long may she wave - the rod. I think the mothers of some of the younger children would be glad if there was no two months vacation, or if somebody would start a free excursion to Long Branch or some other cool place for a couple of months, and take the children along.

We have had no rain up here to do any good for over four weeks, and gardens, oats, corn, and potatoes are drying up, so are also the pastures.

I think this place is destined to become historical shortly, when it does I will let you know all about it."

Yours truly, H.

"Our new minister, Rev. Mr. Clemm seems to be getting along finely. His sermons are original spicy, to the point, and moulded in the old Methodistic style, and delivered with much thought and force. How his plain talk will suit some of his younger flock remains to be seen."

From Mr. Heisse's reports and other sources it would seem that Monkton had its fair share of entertainment. One form was pic nics - not picnics - often sponsored by the church for the community at large. Most communities had their own bands, and a band was always present when a pic nic was in progress. Sometimes a collection was taken or a fee was charged so that the members of the band could receive something for their work. The pic nics were usually held in a grove on Bacon, Bossily, or Griffin property. Mrs. Clarence Smith recalls one memorable pic nic that was held behind Clynmalira Church where a Mr. Miller of Hereford set up his locally famous "flying horses" for children to ride while an organ grinder turned out tunes.

In the last couple of decades of the nineteenth century and on into the twentieth, Monkton was something of a resort town. Each summer families came out from the city and stayed at Miller's Hotel or with local families to boat on the river, play tennis, walk the surrounding lanes, follow the dirt roads on horseback, play croquet, and, of course, partake of the local abundance of food.

Monkton tried an interesting experiment for a short time around 1897. Dogwood of specific thickness and length, with no blemishes or knots, was shipped to Canada and Europe for weavers' shuttles and shoemakers' lasts. The experiment did not prove a success, probably because the new, automated century came too soon. Signs of it began to appear in Monkton almost immediately.

Early in 1900 Mr. Royston Matthews installed a 5-point private telephone line connecting his home with those of Harry Matthews, Dr. Payne in Corbett, Nick Miller (station agent in Monkton), and James Shepperd on the Manor. In 1903 Monkton had a telephone and telegraph office and phone installations in sto5res and homes followed.

The writings of one correspondent, "S," gave a descriptive account of Monkton in the 11 February 1905 issue of the Baltimore County Union News:

"Monkton N.C.R.R. - It has been some time since anything has appeared in the local columns of the Union from Monkton and in order that the place not be entirely lost to your columns I will send you a few facts that may be read with more or less interest. The village itself is situated on the Northern Central Railway 23 miles from Baltimore and 14 miles from Towson. Some other stations on the line of this road are claiming importance because of the freight shipment from them, but there are few if any that can surpass Monkton in this particular. In the first place we have one of the finest stations on the road and the business is such here that it requires two agents to handle the work. Mr. Nicholas Miller is the head man and has as his assistant Mr. W. Harrison Winstanley, son of the late William Winstanley, who was for many years agent for the company and who met his death about eighteen years ago while in the discharge of his duty carrying the mail from the station across the track to the post office.

We have three mail delivery routes going out of Monkton. No. 1 goes by way of Mr. Thomas J. Miller's to Mr. Jacob M. Pearce's thence to Houck's Mill, to Taylor, Harford County, returning by way of Wesley Chapel an other points to the starting point. The carrier is William D. Shepperd, with William H. Shepperd, assistant.

Route No. 2 goes by the way of Piney Hill to Hereford and from the latter place to a point near White Hall and thence to Wiseburg, returning by the way of Hereford to Monkton. The carrier is Herbert Young, with Charles Strickland, substitute.

No. 3 is the long established star route. It goes by the way of the old Manor road to Manor postoffice and from thence to Hess postoffice, in Harford County; thence to Stansbury's mill, returning by the way of Clynmalira Church to Hartman's shop, and thence to the old Phoenix road, passing the late Henry Carroll's property (now owned by Mr. William H. Grafflin of Baltimore) and thence by way of Corbett Road to Monkton. The carrier is Elihu Nelson, with Eugene Ford, substitute.

The town of Monkton and surrounding territory supports two large stores and a hotel of about 30 rooms, conducted by Mr. C. L. Sheeler. These are doing a large business. The second store, which is owned by Mr. Samuel Bosley, is conducted by Messrs. Norris & Burk who, although comparative strangers here, are already doing a most satisfactory trade. This store was until recently kept by Mr. George P. Everhart, who is now engaged in business in Glencoe.

We also have a large warehouse and grain elevator conducted by Mr. W. Royston Mattews. He buys and sells grain and handles all kinds of feeds for dairymen, seeds, fertilizers, coal, etc.

Monkton boasts one of the best blacksmith shops in the county. It is a large mild-shipping point and this fact necessarily brings many teams here daily and keeps things lively at the shop at all hours. Mr. James A. Shepperd, manager of the shop, has been very sick this winter and this has necessarily proven a serious drawback to the business.

We have also two livery stables, one conducted by Mr. C. L. Sheeler and the other by Mr. James A. Shepperd.

It is often said that Monkton has all it needs to make a country village complete except a physician and a dentist. Our nearest doctors are Dr. Josiah T. Payne and his son, Dr. T. Ross Payne, both of whom are located at Corbett, only three-quarters of a mile distant. When the services of these gentlemen are required they can easily be summoned by telephone.

The people of this section, especially the farmers, have been snowbound for weeks. Many of them found their way out, but not with the assistance of the County Commissioners, who have persistently refused to spend money to relieve our roads of the snowdrifts. In York County, which is not far removed from us on the north, things are different in this line. There the roads are opened at public expense and the plan meets with general approval."

"Corbett, N.C.R.R. - Mr. Clinton E. Merryman, who rents the store and warehouse at this station from County Commissioner Slade, is a very busy man and is doing an excellent business. He handles large quantities of feed and fertilizers, twenty cart loads of the latter commodity having passed through his hands last fall. Mr. Merryman has also taken charge of the sawmill of Mrs. Ida Merryman and is getting out large quantities of lumber and also grinding feed for the dairymen of the surrounding country. His power is furnished by a large steam engine."

Baseball was one of the favorite forms of recreation in the county for many years, often being one of the features of the numerous pic nics. Baseball in Monkton hit a new high in 1916 and 1917 when a team was organized by Robert Halliday. Mr. Halliday and his brother, John, were florists in Baltimore. Robert Halliday moved to Monkton and lived on Remare Road, where the P. G. Walker now lives, building his greenhouse near the railroad across from his home. He built a baseball diamond in the meadow between the Falls and the road. Mrs. Alton Ensor recalls that the players would run across the road and tracks between innings to get a dish of ice cream from a large can sitting on the porch of what was then Matthews Feed Store.

The Helendale Athletic Club's baseball team was almost semi-professional with players from Monkton, Corbett, Phoenix, and White Hall. Mr. Halliday furnished their uniforms, and they played on Saturday afternoons. Wilbur Winstanley was the team manager. Harry Adler, Lowell Bailey, Raymond Billingsley, Robert Merryman, Laurence Phelps, and William Phelps were among the players on the team. Raymond Stutzka was the team mascot. As a result of Mr. Halliday's going bankrupt in 1918 and some of the young men joining up for World War I, the Helendale Athletic Club came to an end.

Raymond Billingsley was one of the young men who went into the service. He was killed in France and buried with full military honors in Monkton M.E. Church Cemetery.

With the end of World War I and the beginning of the "Age of the Automobile," community life in Monkton, as it did in many Maryland villages, began to dissolve. The village was still there and doing business as usual, but automobiles made a joke of distance and some of the community spirit was gone forever.