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A History of the Savage United Methodist ChurchMethodism had an early beginning in Savage, Maryland. Some of our oldest members recall hearing that Methodist meetings were being held at the time the Savage Mill was built, which was 1810. The Ministers appointed to this area traveled by horseback or walked, coming to Savage once a month. In 1888, Mr. William Henry Baldwin, owner of The Savage Manufacturing Company (The Mill), gave the ground, built and furnished our "Brick" Church, with the understanding that the congregation would support it. In 1939, three denominations: Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, South (which met at what is now Countryside Fellowship Church in Savage) and Methodist Protestant, united to form the Methodist Church. By 1944, the Methodists in Savage had formed a single congregation and chose "The Brick Church" as their meeting place. In 1956, a building committee was appointed under the guidance of Rev. Charles E. Subock, Jr. On April 8, 1959, a congregational meeting was held to approve the plans for the addition to the church and to approve the financial program. The cornerstone was laid on September 27th, 1959, during the Sunday worship service. The additions approved in 1959 gave us our current "Fellowship Hall" and four Sunday School rooms. The expansion of our church was completed in the summer of 1960. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the present day United Methodist Church. The Church Bell at the Savage United Methodist ChurchChurch Bell Examined Up Close, written by Galen Menne, May, 2004. The Savage United Methodist Church's bell that once was rung daily at the Cotton Mill in Savage to mark the beginning and end of the workday, now has taken on added meaning. It is often rung on Sunday mornings and has a beautiful sound. Mr. William "Dibbie" Reeley (a member of the church and a manager at the Savage Mill) was influential in obtaining the bell as a donation from the latest mill owners, the Winer family. Vera Filby's book which gives the history of Savage, refers to this bell as having been made by the famous bell maker Hooker in 1838. No one questioned this until recently. Church member and member of the Savage Historical Society, Helen Rushing attempted to find out more through a search on the internet. She did not find any early bell maker in the US by that name. She did, however, find information about a bell maker called Hooper. She shared this with the Pastor who is also a member of the Savage Historical Society where he serves as President. Having a hunch that the bell maker was Hooper and that the name would be cast into the bell itself, the Pastor made this a high priority before his pastorate would end. At the next to last meeting of the Youth Confirmation Class, he suggested that the youth do some exploring in the bell tower. Those who were brave climbed a ladder in the bell tower and carefully opened the hatch. They were not able to get close enough to see a name but did have a chance to capture several pictures of the bell on a digital camera. On the following evening, the Savage Historical Society, heard of this discovery. Bill Boston was at that meeting and asked the Pastor if he might climb into the bell tower to get a closer look. Within a matter of days, the hatch in the bell tower was opened. Using a mirror attached to a bamboo pole, Bill was able to read the name Boston and 1838. A little later that same morning, it was decided to extend the ladder to get a closer look. Soon it was discovered that the bell had the name “Henry N. Hooper & Company.” A more recent visit was made and at that time we were able to get some close-up pictures of the bell and the words inscribed. Going back to the website that talks about the Hooper Bell, it was discovered that the oldest known Hooper bell in the US is dated 1846. The bell is from the foundry in Boston that was started by Paul Revere after the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere’s son, Isaac, later continued making bells along with Henry Hooper. Now we have the oldest bell made by Henry Hooper in the US that is known to exist. For those of you who want to visit this site, http://www.gcna.org/data/IXfoundryHooperBlake.html, you will now note that the bell at Savage UMC is first on the list along with a link to our church website. Below are some pictures of the bell:
Some Methodist History Links
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