We are grateful to Robert L. Teters for providing this document.
I do not greatly approve apologies or explanations on the part of any one attempting a needful work. But it seems that something of the kind may be due to those-if any-who may hereafter read this very imperfect sketch. When the farewell service for the old Young's Chapel was held last summer, I, by virtue of being the member of longest standing in the Waterford church, and so far as known, the only survivor of those who attended the dedication of the old building, was invited to give a brief historical sketch. I did so orally. Afterward it was suggested by several, that I should remodel it somewhat and commit it to writing.
It did not seem to me worth while and I declined. Later it occurred to me that with the great and growing interest these days in everything old, or relating to the past, some such record might be of interest and possibly of use hereafter. I regret that this had not been thought of a few years earlier when there were those living who had been raised in Methodist families and connected with the church from childhood. They of course were familiar with many things of interest of which I, coming into the church in mature years from another denomination, know nothing. They could have written this chronicle better than I, or would gladly have assisted me. But they have all gone on to the fellowship of the church triumphant. So I am dependent on my own resources and the help courteously given by those of a younger generation to who some information has been handed down by their parents.
I have not been able to discover where or by whom Methodism was first introduced into this vicinity. In the early days the Methodist circuit rider was often the first to bring the Gospel to any new opening in the wilderness. But the early settlers of Washington County, especially this part of it, were largely New Englanders and chiefly of Presbyterian bias, with a sprinkling of Congregationalist, Universalists, and Unitarians. There are very likely records somewhere of the beginnings of Methodism here, but if so, they are not available to me. Bishop Simpson in his "Cyclopedia of Methodism" states that Methodism was introduced into the vicinity of Marietta about 1800. It was then included in the bounds of the Muskingum and Little Kanawho circuit, which in 1803 reported 168 members. In 1804 Jacob Young was appointed to that circuit. On his first visit to Marietta he stopped with DR McIntosh. He was laid by for three weeks by sickness and was very kindly treated by some of the leading citizens, but they were strongly opposed to the establishment of services there. Finally, DR McIntosh permitted him to preach in his house, and shortly after the Trustees of the Academy allowed him to hold a quarterly meeting there. Before the close of the year he organized a class of 8 members there. In 1806 the Muskingum circuit was separated from Little Kanawho and Peter Cartwright was appointed to it. He naively records that "I had hard work to keep soul and body together." At that time the circuit extended 150 miles along the North Kanawha. It was about 300 miles around and it was necessary to cross the river four times to complete the circuit. This part of the country was of course included in the bounds of that circuit, but I can find no reference to it.
The Ohio Conference was formed in Oct 1812, from the old Western Conference. The minutes of that year name David Young as presiding elder of the Muskingum District. I know he held a Quarterly meeting in the neighborhood where the class from which our present church organization was derived used to meet, so it must have been in existence quite early in the last century. My mother made here home from 1816 to 1835 with her Aunt at the farm now owned by Mr Beidenbach, something less than two miles down the Muskingum below Waterford. I have often heard her speak of people crossing the river in front of their house, which stood much nearer the river than the present one and going to a school house farther down where class meetings were held.
I will digress here to say that at that time there was no Methodist Society in Beverly. In fact, I think the place where the Methodist church now stands was in forest. Of course there was no bridges and no regular ferry, but people crossed frequently in skiffs or canoes. A grist Mill stood farther down the river at the mouth of Congress Run, where much of the grinding for both sides of the river was done. The Bowen brothers built a woolen factory near there and Mr James Bowen built a fine home. Several other dwellings were erected and it was hoped that a village would grow up there. The road ran along the river bank and the neighboring farmers naturally built near it. But they did not reckon with the treachery of the river. Scarcely a trace of the earlier buildings is left. Those that remain were built later and set farther back.
The mill of which I have spoken was owned and managed by Thomas Featherston the great Grandfather of W C Leget of Waterford. He was the leader of the class, and his son-in-law Abner Fish, who was associated with him in the mill, was also an active member. On one occasion I remember hearing that quarterly meeting was held in the mill, before there was any church building. I do no know whether there were regular preaching services or not before they had a church, but probably there were for a time at least. I do not know the date of the erection of that church but the old pulpit Bibles presumably the first, bears the date 1829 on one of the front leaves. Threw what struggles, self denial and sacrifices it was built belongs to the unwritten chronicles of the past. It stood on the Stephen Devol farm (since owned by Mr Lovett) adjoining the Beidebach property. It was a rather small plain building, but no doubt a source of much joy and satisfaction to the little class who had never had a church of their own. In the years of its usefulness several men, later prominent in Ohio Methodism, ministered in its humble pulpit. When I saw it in probably about 1852 it was considerably weather beaten but otherwise apparently well preserved. At about that time it was decided to build at Waterford. The changes which the years had brought made this expedient. There seems to be an impression of later years that the building was removed to Waterford. But this in no correct. I had on good authority that it was sold, at least in part, to a citizen of Beverly and built into a dwelling, which is still occupied and in good condition. The outline of the church gable is still quite noticeable. The proceeds of the sale of course helped in a building fund for the new church. Even with that it was a heroic undertaking for a small society of country folk in moderate circumstances to undertake the erection of so large a building. (It was considerable larger than the old one. Larger, I remember hearing people say, than was needed. As far as the ordinary church services were concerned, it was. The Sunday school of those days did not enter into church plans.) There were no modern devices for raising money, no Ladies Aid, seldom even the old fashioned sewing circle which furnished the short story writers of that day so large a part of their stock in trade.
But an elect lady of Waterford who had already shown her interest in the welfare of her neighbors families by establishing and carrying on, with the help of another lade, the first Sunday school here in the little brick school house, made the church the possessors of perhaps the finest building site in the village for the purpose. (She and her husband are commensorated by the beautiful window back of the pulpit in the new building, a gift from her daughter Mr Gen Devol of Kansas City, Mo) She was already in failing health and did not live to see the church completed.
People of all denominations, and of none helped. The magnificent forests which clothed the hills and fertile bottom lands had been shamefully wasted by our forefathers, but there was much fine timber left, and rough stone was abundant along the streams and in the hills. Labor was cheap and no doubt much was donated. Mr J T Townsend tells me that his father, George Townsend, long a leading member of the church, at that time operated one of the saw mills in use in those days and sawed the lumber for the church from native timber. In August 1853, the building was ready for dedication. Jacob Young was then a prominent figure in Ohio Methodism, and it was decided to name the new church in his honor. There was a rumor that he was to preach on that day, and there was a large attendance at the dedication, but he was not present. Uriah Heath the presiding elder of Marietta district preached and conducted the dedication service. So far as I know there was no debt remaining to be provided for afterward, though I remember there was the usual prolonged and vigorous struggle at the time, which to this day mars the glory and solemnity of almost every dedication service. Can we expect the glory of the Lord to fill the house thus presented to Him?
It may be of interest to some who only knew Young's Chapel of later years to hear something of its arrangement as it was originally built. Its dimensions, I understand, were 36 x 52. It stood as nearly north and south as the situation permitted. It consisted of one large room, and a vestibule in front (under the same roof. Many of the people came on horseback, and this provided shelter for saddles and other paraphernalia in stormy weather).
The main entrance was directly in the center. Two doors opened from the vestibule into the auditorium, from which of course two aisles led to the pulpit and altar in the south end. At these doors the brethren and sisters parted company, the men going to the left and the women to the right. The block of seats between the two aisle, - known as the "Middle block" - was rather a neutral territory, occupied chiefly by women, but a man and woman could sit together there without offense. The one coal heater occupied a space a little forward of the center and two or three seats in front of it between it and the altar were occupied by the relatives at funerals and by others on special occasions. The rows of seats at each side faced the pulpit as far as to the altar. Those in the corners, stood at right angles to the others, facing the side of the pulpit. These were occupied by the fathers and mothers in Israel and constituted the "Amen Corners", (which fully lived up to their name.) The first pulpit was one of the high old fashioned kind. On the shelf which formed the top - in the exact center lay a red cushion on which rested the Bible bound in dull red with "marbled" edges, and a hymn book (with out tunes) and with some gilt decoration. The seat for the pulpit was like the pews except not quite so long, and also cushioned in red. A row of lamp posts stood along each aisle bearing tall brass lamps in which lard oil was burned and two similar lamps graced the corners of the pulpit. There were four windows on each side and two in the south end, one each side of the pulpit. There were composed of numerous panes of 10 x 12 glass and screened by outside shutters, usually green, while the body of the building was white. The building was remodeled several times, first a bell tower and bell were added and then other changes were made from time to time. The ground given included a considerable piece on the West side of the road, used for a time as a hitching place for horses, and finally was sold and the proceeds applied to a new slate roof and other repairs.
At the time the church was built, and I think for some time previous, we were on Barlow circuit which then extended from Belpre to Olive Chapel, (now Maple Grove,). The circuit was manned by two preachers, each of whom came around to each point once in four weeks. In order to do this, some appointments had to be served on week days. About 1865 Belpre was made a separate charge. For a time Barlow had on preacher and the outlying points were served but once in four weeks. About 1878, a rearrangement of the work in this section was made, and Waterford became the head of a circuit of four appointments which were later increased to five. Oakland has since become a station and Center has been dropped. Waterford has become a half station with preaching twice each Sunday, and two afternoon appointments filled on alternate Sundays.
In 1928, under the leadership of Rev Harry Dye, it was decided to "arise and build" the new church so long talked of and which had begun to be sorely needed. The Sunday School outgrew years ago its meager accommodations and we have begun to discover that the Sunday School is a mighty factor in the life of the church.
It occurred to me after writing the foregoing that some account of the Sunday School of former days might not be amiss. As I have already said Mrs Bowen was the founder of the first Sunday School in Waterford. I have this information from others. Although I attended that school a few times, taken there by an older brother, I was to young to know anything of its origin or purpose. I suppose there was a school in connection with the church after the society had a building of its own but my acquaintance with it began after my father moved to the village in the fall of 1857. Up to the early 70s the Sunday school hibernated as regularly as the bears. About October its closing for the winter was regularly announced. The following April the preacher in charge would announce at the close of the preaching service that they would proceed to reorganize the Sunday school. Nobody was expected to take any part in this procedure except the older members of the church, whose families had grown up and left home and who themselves no more thought of attending it then they did the district school. Under the direction of the preacher they proceeded to elect some old brother as superintendent and it would be announced to begin the next Sunday. I don't suppose the elderly superintendent had any special interest in the work but the Discipline and the preacher commanded it, and he must obey. I will say that he was generally faithful to his trust and discharged his duty as he understood it. Once in a while some other old brother would "visit the school", and very rarely the preacher would look in. The teachers were picked up wherever they could get them. The classes were few and small and not many were required. There were no lesson leaves or quarterlies. There were little board covered "question books" published by the "Sunday School Union", containing both questions and answers. The same one was used year after year. The teacher would read the questions, and the pupils who could read, read the answers. Those too small for this said their A B Cs or spelled out easy words, just as in an school. There was a cupboard near the pulpit where the question books were kept and a small library of little paste board covered books of memoirs of "the Early Dead" or some special child saint who suffered unspeakable things and went prematurely to rest. (and I remember one "History of the Inquisition") Yet there were some really worth while little books. After a while we got the "Sunday School Advocate", a little four page paper rather "goody goody", but we thought it quite a treasure, and as the years went on it became a really fine little paper. In the early 70s, the older young people, who found the Sunday school better than no place to get together, rose up in rebellion against the winter closing and carried their point.
I am minded to speak of one year, when for some reason, I have forgotten if I ever knew, the church did not start a school in the spring, and two young fellows, neither of them a church member, took it up and carried it on successfully through the summer. This was probably about 1855 or 6. One of them was my own brother the other Mrs Rutter's Uncle, Charles Wood. Miss Isabel Devol, (J P Townsend's Aunt) who afterward married Mr Wood, was my teacher. A more orderly and well conducted school I never saw. The boys didn't feel they could pray, so that feature was dispensed with, unless some elderly brother dropped in, as two of them sometimes did, when the boys asked him to pray and it was a real treat.
On July 22, 1928, a farewell service for the old church was held. After the usual Sunday School and preaching service in the forenoon a bountiful picnic dinner was served to those attending the services, some of who came from a long distance to be present. Just as the tables were set on the lawn a threatened storm drove the people within doors and the tables were hastily transferred to the class rooms, which furnished narrow quarters, and plenty of flies. But this only added to the sociability of the occasion and everybody was in a good humor for the afternoon service. The afternoon address was ably given by Rev Edward Russell Stafford of Worthington, O. who also spoke again in the evening to a crowed house. The music was furnished by the local choir and a soloist from Marietta. That night the doors of Young's Chapel were locked behind us for the last time. On the morrow the furniture was removed and the work of clearing the ground for the new church was begun. During the months of tearing down and rebuilding services were held regularly in the new auditorium of the high school. The Wednesday evening prayer services was held regularly in the homes of the Members.
The work prospered and on Easter Sunday, March 31st 1929, the building was dedicated. It had already been in use for a month, but some work was necessary before it was ready for dedication. The first sermon in it was preached March 3, by Rev Maxwell Hall county director of religious education. It was in response to an emergency call, and he had little time for preparation, but his address was most timely and helpful.
Bishop Theodore S Henderson of the Cincinnati Area, was to have had charge of the dedication service, but his untimely death intervened and DR John G Benson of White Cross Hospital was called on to take his place. After the usual week of preliminary services, in which various former pastors and other speakers took part, Easter Sunday was ushered in by a beautiful sunrise praise and baptismal service. After the Sunday school DR Harry J Holcombe, superintendent of the Athens District, preached an excellent sermon. At noon a "pot luck" dinner was served in the new basement dining room. DR Benson gave a good address in the afternoon and conducted the financial campaign very wisely and gracefully, and quite successfully, using the century old Bible of the first Methodist church ever built in Waterford township as a receptacle of the pledges. Then came the brief dedicatory service. This was followed by a social hour and a lunch, and the day closed with a short Easter program by members of the Sunday school in the evening.
My task is done.
What shall be the record of the years to come?
Written by Miss Minerva Culver, who died in 1936 at age 89 years. Typed from original by William B Mason, 4/8/1989.
Click here to read a later history of the church, through 1979.