Articles & Stories
A History
Of Concord Methodist
Church In Pendleton, Kentucky
Tulls,
Hendricks, Mountjoys Lockwoods, Hitcnes, Harts,
And Steeles Made Up The Methodist Society In 1800
By Mildred Bowen Belew
To the glory of God and the advancement of Christian faith was one of the key phrases and aims of the early charters of our country. A step toward carrying this aim out was begun around the beginning of the year 1800, when a Methodist Society was organized at Concord, Pendleton County, Kentucky. The families making up this society were the Tulls, Hendricks, Mountjoys, Lockwoods, Hitcnes, Harts, and Steeles. At the time this society was organized there was no church building in existence and meetings were held in the homes of members or in the local school building, when it was available. There were no roads and those who attended meetings made the trip on foot or horseback.
Shown above are 13 members of the I. T. S. S. Class of the Concord Methodist Church, Concord, Pendleton County, Kentucky. This photo was taken on September 22, 1917, by Miss Laura Fields. Cova Lee Rusk Freeman's (who shares this photo) mother, Mabel Maude Steele Rusk and her aunt, Bessie Lee Steele, were members of the class. They are the daughters of George Wesley Steele ad Ada Lee Hart of Concord. Standing, l-r: Mrs. Mae Hitch, Miss Ruth Houchen, Deloris Redmon, Hester Kidder, Mabel Steele, Georgia Hitch, Bessie Steele, and Helen Hart. Kneeling, l-r: Ruby Fields, Christine Houstin, Ruth Fields, Fannie Pribble, Annette Pettit, and Helen Fields.
Some of the earliest ministers were the Reverends Clinging, Leach,
and Todd.
There are no records to indicate whether or not this organization
was a part of the Cynthiana circuit which existed early at that
time and extended to Newport, Campbell, Kentucky.
In the year 1844 after a number of years of worshipping in their
homes and the school building, a plot of land was set aside by
Thomas Rush for construction of a church building and also provision
for a cemetery. After the death of Mr. Rush in 1850 the heirs
of his estate, Daniel Rush, Peter Rush, and Mary Ruth Hendricks
proceeded according to the wishes of the late Mr. Rush. On August
24, 1867, the property was deeded to the trustees, who were:
Samuel Nolan, H. B. Bonar, and Perry Rush. Following his death
in 1850 the body of Thomas Rush was the first to be interred
in the new cemetery.
The construction of the new church building was headed by Henry
Waggermann, who was the contractor. Mr. Waggermann did the carpentery
work taking everything in the rough and transforming it into
workable material and ultimately into a beautiful frame building.
He did the completed job for the amount of $100. Those who assisted
Mr. Waggermann were William Ellis, Phillip Hendricks and sons,
Bailey Harrod, Nicholas Young, William Sherwin, John Wilson,
William Cookendorfer, John L. Wellman, and Alfred D. Moore. Jeremiah
Trinkle sawed all of the lumber free.
There are no records stating that the church was a part of the
Falmouth circuit at the time it was built. It is known that later
it was a part of that circuit.
Two of the ministers that are recorded to have engaged in an
active ministry of the early church prior to the time of accurate
records were Rev. Kavanaugh and Rev. Whitaker. Rev. E. B. Harmun,
a local Methodist Episcopal minister, held services for a number
of years with very little remuneration. Inadequate records do
not provide information as to the length of time served by these
early ministers.
The date of the dedication of the first church building and the
pastor serving at that time is unknown. The first written accounts
of pastors and their length of ministry begins in 1869.
During the ministry of T. F. Taliaferro in 1885 and after 40
years of worshiping in this place the decision was made to construct
a new building on the same site. The late George L. Myers and
Lee Hasrcuin were the contractors and carpenters who built this
new building. This church was a frame building similar to the
first church, with the pulpit situated in the back, with two
aisles and two front doors. This building was painted white.
It was destroyed by fire in 1904, along with all of its furnishings
and church record books, leaving the people of the Concord area
without a place to worship.
The officials soon called a meeting to decide on plans for the
construction of a new church building. Since the Presbyterian
people in the area had been holding services in the old church
for a number of years also, the members and officials decided
to build a union church. (The building was a union church in
that the two groups held their own individual services at different
times, usually one group using the building on alternate Sundays).
A tract of land was purchased from the late John Kidwell, across
the road from the old church site. This church was purchased
by both denominations and became known as the Concord Methodist
and Presbyterian Union Church. The officials at that time were
Methodist, and Rev. E. L. Griffy was pastor with Hayden Ellis
and John R. Houchen serving as trustees. The Presbyterian group
had as their pastor Rev. T. C. Kerr, with N. J. Fields and Daniel
Rush as elders. Daniel Rush also served as superintendent of
the Presbyterian Sunday School.
After all of the plans were made for the construction of the
building, Mr. Edward Houston was employed as the head contractor.
Much of the lumber was donated by N. J. Fields and was sawed
by Charlie Morris of Pleasant Hill. Other members donated work
of various kinds. The church was completed in the fall of 1905.
The dedication was held on June 3, 1906, in an all-day service.
The presiding elder at that time was the Rev. J. H. Simms who
also preached the dedicatory sermon. The united use of the church
by the Presbyterian and Methodist was carried on until 1925,
when the Presbyterian body discontinued worship services at Concord
and disbanded.
During the time of rebuilding the church services were held in
the Concord School. In the year which the church was completed
Concord was changed from the Falmouth Circuit to the California
Circuit and remained there until 1919, when it was placed on
the Butler Circuit where it remains today. This third church
building was a frame building, 38 feet by 44 feet, having a side
entrance and vestibule and alcove in back where the pulpit was
situated. After worshipping in this church building for 48 years
it was the decision of the members to construct a basement and
make various improvements. This program was carried out under
the leadership of J. B. Harmon as pastor and Rev. Dr. R. R. Patton
as district superintendent, both of whom gave much time and study
to the plan. The basement was completed in 1955 and consisted
of three Sunday School rooms, two bathrooms, a furnace room,
kitchen, and auditorium; with one outside entrance and one inside
entrance leading up into the vestry.
Concord Church has contributed many Christian people to the country,
and in the field of Christian service the church has yielded
from its ranks five ordained ministers: Rev. B. H. Fields, Rev.
E. K. Kidwell, Rev. Arthur Carl Ashcraft, Rev. Ralph Fields,
and Rev. Robert Taylor.
Cova Lee Freeman, 3943 Creek Road, Cincinnati, OH 45241; ifreeman@cinci.rr.com, shares this article with our readers.