St. Paul's United Methodist Church
at 12 Marlborough Street in historic Newport, Rhode Island
A Brief History of St. Paul's Church
United Methodist (originally Methodist
Episcopal)
1800 Class organized.
1805 Ruben Hubbard
becomes first of a long line of
Pastors of the Church at
12 Marlborough Street.
1807 Church incorporated.
1806-7 The Church building erected; the first Methodist church in
world with a steeple.
1827 Sunday School organized.
1840 Church building raised one story; New parish hall build below sanctuary; Narrow pews substituted for square boxes.
1856 Thames Street Church formed (that building has been the home of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church since 1924).
1857 Middletown Church formed (now the Calvary United Methodist Church)
1858 The Church organ introduced.
1871 The Church incorporated as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Newport.
1881 The Church building partially burned; Organ carried to new addition at north end of during the restoration.
1886 The Swedish Church organized on Annandale Ave (joined with the United Methodist Church Middletown in 1973).
1922 The First and Thames Street churches united as St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church.
1939 St. Paul's becomes St. Paul's Methodist Church as a result of changes at the national church level.
1944 Solomon Townsend house next to St. Paul's Church purchased for a Parish House. It was built in 1730.
1946 St. Paul's Church Sanctuary undergoes an major "restoration." During this restoration the chancel, including the altar and pulpits, were extensively redesigned and reconstructed to what was described at the time "as far as possible to the style and atmosphere of the finest of the old colonial churches." For more see The Meaning of the Chancel.
1960 Townsend parish house demolished due to being badly deteriorated; Present education annex consisting of a variety of classrooms, offices and other spaces is constructed.
1968 St. Paul's becomes St. Paul's United Methodist Church as a result of changes at the national church level.
1987 The St. Paul's Church building placed on the National Registry of Historic Places and Landmarks. St. Paul’s also designated as United Methodist Historic Site No. 195.
2000 St. Paul's United Methodist Church celebrates its 200th Anniversary and begins a robust third century of serving and supporting the people of Newport and beyond.Link to: A Detailed History of St. Paul's Church.
Link to
A Detailed History of St. Paul's
Church
St. Paul's Church
in the late 1800s
The church building in the late 1800s (then known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Newport ). The houses crowding each side of the church, and the high wall across the street, are some of the changes that a viewer of the 21st century church will note. Changes to the front entrance and the steeple are others.