Somerville First United Methodist Church

History :
The town of Somerville was only 13 years old when Albert G. Hunter sold a small tract of land in the Town of Somerville to a few men who constituted the Trustees of what many years later would become the First United Methodist Church of Somerville. The First Methodist church in Fayette County had been established the year before and named Green Coe's Chapel. With the purchase of the land from Mr. Hunter, our own First Methodist Church had its beginnings.
As the population of Somerville grew, so did the membership of the First Methodist Church. In 1867 the old building had to be enlarged. This was no small undertaking inasmuch as the South was still recovering from the economic disaster caused by the Civil War and Reconstruction. Nonetheless, the spirit and commitment of the men and women of First Methodist made the project possible.
In 1915 this first building was completely replaced and substituted with a new structure that signaled the beginning of our present building. In later years, even this building would be added to and improved upon such as in 1948 when we build the annex. This building program was made possible through the generous gifts of the Williams-Collins Fund as well as many contributions from the congregation.
During the 1960's the congregation began to feel the need for additional space. In 1973, the third section of the building was dedicated. This is a modern, two story building that is used for meeting and Sunday School classes. During this time of construction, additional land was purchased for parking spaces; and at the present time, this land has been utilized for what is now a fine parking area and play ground. While all the construction on the church building was in progress, the parsonage was not being neglected. In 1963 a new home for our minister and his family was constructed on South Somerville Street.
An outstanding event took place at the General Conference of the Methodist Church held in Dallas, Texas in 1968. The Methodist Church united with the Evangelical United Brethern Church, and the name of the organization became the United Methodist Church. This event gave birth to the present name of the First United Methodist Church in Somerville.
We have come a long way from our humble beginning in the 1800's. When one views the present physical plant of the First United Methodist Church on East Street, he or she will see a beautiful series of building dedicated to God and to his son Jesus Christ. The hard work and diligent application of the men and women of the church culminated when on Sunday, May 24, 1987, we held a Note Burning Dedication to commemorate the final payment of our note on the Master Building Program. This ceremony donated the payment in full on a note in excess of $550,000.00 to pay for our parsonage, the educational building, fellowship hall, the renovation of the kitchen and offices and pipe organ, and other improvements. This was a wonderful day for all of us.
First Methodist has been fortunate since its beginning to have had capable ministers and lay leaders who have provided the spiritual leadership for our church. We have grown to a membership of over 400 members. On the original tract of land which was purchased for $100.00 in 1838 has evolved an impressive church building with room for expansion, and more importantly, dedicated membership. The dream of those few men and women at Green Coe's Chapel has been embellished with the memories of those who followed them and with the memories that we are making today.
The emotion of our history is the feeling of belonging to what is past and of preparing to leave something for the future. Ours is a continuing story for which there is no end. Our future is bright and our spirit is undaunted.