Union Chapel's History
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Union Chapel Marks 150th Anniversary

(Quoted from section two of The Daily Dispatch newspaper.  Thursday, April 12, 1979)

    Union Chapel Church was organized in 1829 by Jonathan Fuller and James Hunt, two local preachers who were originally members of Plank Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.  They withdrew from Plank Chapel because of a conflict with the pastor over the reading of a religious paper, "Mutual Rights," published by the Methodist Protestant Church people in Baltimore, MD., they had subscribed to.  Seeking more independence from the governing body of the church, they, along with William B. Mann, founded Union Chapel Methodist Protestant Church

    The first building was a small log house surrounded by a bush arbor erected in the oak grove within a few yards of where the present building now stands.  Some of the charter members of the church were George Kittrell; William J. Hunt and wife; Jonathan Hunt and wife; Benjamin Woodlief and wife, Polly; John Woodlief and wife, Ann; and Nicholas Woodlief and wife, Lucy. 

    The Third Session of the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church met at Union Chapel on Oct. 1, 1829, with W.W. Hill as president and W.C. Whitaker as secretary.  Thirty-eight years later, on Nov. 6, 1867, the Forty-Second Session met at Union Chapel with John L. Michaux as president and A.C. Harris as secretary.  There were 8,198 members of the Methodist Protestant Conference at that time, served by 51 ministers.  The first Sunday school at the church was organized in 1869 by Dr. C.J.H.W. Hester.  A window in his memory now exists in the church sanctuary.  In 1873, an annual conference was held at Union Chapel, the first and only one in the history of the church.  The preachers and delegates stayed in neighboring homes and walked back and forth to the sessions.  The Fiftieth Session of the Conference met at Union Chapel on Nov. 1, 1875, with C.F. Harris as president and J.H. Page as secretary.  There were 46 ministers in the conference with 9,090 members.

    From 1889 to 1899, Union Chapel was one of four churches on a circuit valued at $3,800, with a total of 489 members.   The other churches were Rehoboth, Mount Carmel, and Antioch.  In 1899, Gillburg Methodist Church joined the other four on the Granville Circuit.  In that year, Union Chapel was assessed $135 for the minister's salary and paid $142.25.   There were 444 members on the circuit in 1900 and 459 in 1902.

    In 1894, the present cemetery was put into use.  Up to that time the area immediately behind the present building had been used for this purpose.  Two Methodist ministers are buried at Union Chapel.   They are the Rev. James Hunt, who was admitted to the conference in 1832 and who died in 1848, and the Rev. James Hugh Gilbreath, who died on March 5, 1902.

    The present sanctuary was renovated in 1902 with the removal of the slave gallery, the installation of stained glass windows, and the plastered walls covered with a present wood paneling.  Henry Finch and Dave Gill were in charge of this work.  In 1922, Gillburg church was removed from the Granville Circuit, and the following year Antioch church was closed.  This left Union Chapel, Rehoboth and Mount Carmel on the Granville charge.

    Union Chapel held a centennial celebration in 1929, observing its 100 years of service to the community, the Methodist church and to the Lord.

    In 1948, the Sunday school rooms were added at the back of the present sanctuary.  Two years later, the parsonage adjacent to the church was built, with Phillip Hunt serving as contractor.  The previous parsonage had been located at Bearpond.  The Rev. Herman Winberry was the first occupant of the new parsonage.  The church's first electronic pipe organ was installed in 1950.   A new floor and new pews were placed in the sanctuary in 1956.

    Two major events in the life of Union Chapel occurred in 1959.  The educational building was completed that year, with members doing most of the work.  Also, the Granville charge divided and Union Chapel became a station church.  The Rev. Carl Calloway was the first pastor of Union Chapel in its independent status.  The church purchased Rehoboth's interest in the parsonage and became its sole owner.

    In 1960, the porch and vestibule of the church were erected, gifts of Walter and Ollie Finch.  Modernization continued around the church in 1968 as the parsonage was renovated and enlarged, and new carpeting and storm windows were added to the sanctuary.

    Perhaps one of the most significant events in the appearance of the church was the brick veneering of the sanctuary in 1972-73.   Also during this major renovation, air conditioning for the entire plant was installed and the breezeway between the main church building and the educational building was glassed in.  In 1978, Kittrell Methodist Church was sold with Union Chapel receiving $1,000 from that sale.  Several former members of the Kittrell church joined the congregation.

    After 150 years of continuous service in the Kittrell community, Union Chapel Church, first as Methodist Protestant, then as Methodist, and today as a United Methodist church in the Raleigh District of the North Carolina Conference, continues to serve.

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Email:  unichap@gbgmchurches.gbgm-umc.org / Snail Mail:  6479 Raleigh Road in Kittrell, NC 27544

Webmaster:  Jimmy G.

This page was last updated on 02/21/98.