Methodist Church History

The Methodist Story An Inspiring Religious Saga of Culver and Union Township Based On the Research of the Late Dr. B. W. S. Wiseman.

A METHODISM has been well represented in the growth of Union Township, Marshall County, Indiana, in which the town of Culver is located.

The first white settlers probably came to Marshall County near the beginning of the nineteenth century.

One report claims an itinerant Methodist minister by the name of Owens organized a society in the home of Abel C. Hickman, west of Argos round 1834.

The first official record of Methodist work in the ccunty is in 1836. In that year Rev. Stephen C. Marsters was appointed by the Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to a mission which embraced the counties cE Marshall, Fulton and Kosciusko.

In Marshall County he had four preaching appointments.

The first notice of a Methodist minister serving a church in Culver, or Marmont as it was then known, appears in 1863. In that year A. Byers, a supply pastor, was appointed to the Marmont charge. However, evidence indicates that a congregation of Methodists was in Marmont previous to that date, for the present parsonage in Culver is located on land which was purchased in September, 1856, by the Methodist congregation in Marmont. Apparently the church was served by an itinerant minister whose appointment was so worded that a definite reference to Marmont was not made.

The first services in Culver held by Methodists were conducted in the school house.

In the winter of 1867-68 the movement to build a church was organized. At that time there was an active congregation headed by a resident pastor.

Leaders in the church building program were Oliver Porter, Thomas W. Redden, Edward "Uncle Teddy" Medbourn, James Duddleson, William DinsmoreJohn Buswell and Lorenzo D. Wiseman.

Dr. G. A. Durr , who was not a member of the church, also contributed his leadership and financial backing to the project. The lot on which the first building was created, and where the old church now stands, was purchased in the summer of 1868 for $50.

This was regarded as a fair price for that much land (66'x99').

The building which was placed there was 36 feet wide by 48 feet long and had an eighteen foot There was a bell tower and spire at the front (east) end of the building. This building was a frame structure, sided with white painted wood. The lumber was cut on farm land east of Lake Maxinkuckee, milled in the little village of Maxinkuckee, and rafted across the lake to Marmont. The entire siding for the first church was supplied by Edward Medbourn, who purchased a large poplar tree from Jeremiah Mosher for: $30.

The needed siding was cut from that one tree. It must have been a hard winter in 1867-'68 when that tree was cut, for the testimony of one of those living when the church was built, now passed away, was that that poplar tree was buried in the snow when it was felled. The seats in church were all made by Lorenzo Wiseman, who was architect of the first church and foreman of the carpenters. Assistants in the work of construction were J. S. Bernheisel and August Hoppe.

Singing in the first church was led by either John Buswell or Lorenzo Wiseman. Mr. Wiseman's son, writing in later years, tells that his father had a fine, clear voice, but that the congregation looked to Brother Buswell for power in leading. Dr. Wiseman also records th following in his account of those first days of Methodism in Culver.

The church was dedicated in 1369. Rev. W. R. Nickles, then stationed in. Plymouth, preached the sermon on that occasion. The hymn sung on that occasion was 'From Greenland's Icy Mountains'. The house was full, and I have never, before or since, heard such earnest singing by a congregate. The prayer and class meeting services held in the early days were very interesting and elevating. It is said that on the occasion the prayer meeting on Thursday night had been so exceptionally interesting that 'Uncle Teddy' Medbcurn forget that he had on horseback and walked home, a distance of more than two miles, leaving his hone in the village. Such was the sporot of interest and devotion those days.

In 1885 and '8G the Marmont church was a part of the circuit. But apparently hotter times came, for in 1S87 Marmont had a resident minister. From that time since it has been the head of a charge. For many years of its existence as a church the Poplar Methodist Episcopal chinch, located on the eastern edge of Union Township, was a part of the charge. In 1946 Poplar Grove was changed to the Argos charge: since then Culver has been a station.

In 1898 the need for a better church structure was felt by the congregation. In that year and the year following extensive changes and improvements were made. The original church was raised and turned at right angles to become the auditorium of the present church. That frame structure is encased in the present building. A basement was dug beneath the building: an addition was made on the east side of the building as well as an offset on the west side for the choir. The additions were of brick, and the original frame structure was brick veneered to match

A tower was added to the northwest corner of the building, and for many years the activities of Culver were timed by the clock which was placed in that tower. Some additional changes were made in the church as the years passed. New steps were placed at the tower, and a now brick entrance to the basement was added on the north, or Washington street, side of the building. The clock mechanism was removed, and speakers for the chime system were fixed where the faces of the town clock ornce were. But substantially the building remained the same as it was fifty years ago.

The cost of remodeling the building in 1899 was $5000; much cf the labor was donated by the members. The pastor under whom these improvements were made was Rev. F. O. Fraley.

The Golden Jubilee of the Culver M. E. church was held Sunday, June 23, 1918. In honor of the occasion the congregation raised over $1200; with this money they paid $560 which remained on the debt from the remodeling program of 1899 and installed a new heating system in the church.

The sermon on the Golden Jubilee Sunday was preached by the Rev. Dr. H. L. Davis, pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in South Bend. Accounts of that celebration in the files of "The Culver Citizen" indicate that Dr. Davis credited the Methodist church with the major share of victory which was being experienced in the first World War in the summer of 1918. Rev. W. W. Clouse was pastor of the church at that time.

Following the service the congregation went to Thayers Grove, cn the south end of Lake Maxinkuckee, where a picnic dinner was served cn two long tables. Following the meal addresses were given by the Revs. H. L. Davis of South Bend, H. A. Davis Leiters FordT and W. W. Clouse of Culver. A history of the church which he had prepared for the day was read by Dr. B. W. S. Wiseman.

Two major improvements were made in the equipment of the church in the years that followed.

A public address system, equipped to serve for hearing aids in the pews and to play chime recordings, was donated to the church by Dr. Bruce Robinson and his brother M. R. Robinson, then editor of the local newspaper, "The Culver Citizen" The purchase of an electronic organ in 1947 was heralded as a welcome addition to the church equipment. The fund for the purchase of this organ was raised during the pastorate of the Rev. Ralph M. Jones; the organ was installed and dedicated during the pastorate of the Rev. George Beatty.

The Diamond Jubilee of the Culver church was held cn Sunday, November 14, 1943. The pastor, Rev. Ralph M. Jones, preached the sermon at the worship service; the title of his sennon was "Looking Both Ways." In the afternoon a vesper service of re-dedication was held. Bishop Titus Lowe, resident bishop of The Methodist Church in the state of Indiana at that time, was present, as was also the Rev. Dr. J. A. Holmes, District Superintendent, and Revs. Voris B. Servies and Richard Pengilly, former pastors. Bishop Lowe preached the sermon at the vesper service. This was followed by a reception for Bishop Lowe in the social rooms of the church.

Time, however, took its toll on the building in which the Methodists of Culver were housed. In addition, the membership of the church and its activities expanded more than those who built the church in 1899 could have expected. During the pastorate of the Rev. Ralph M. Jones (1942-1946) steps were taken toward a building program. However, World War II building restrictions followed by high building costs resulted in the feeling that it was best to allow some time to elapse before undertaking such a program. Nevertheless, land was purchased for a future church site. Then, during the pastorate of the Rev. Quentin L. Hand (1948-1951) the Quarterly Conference of the church authorized the investigation of plans and cost for a building which would meet the congregation's needs and provide for future expansion. A committee appointed by the Quarterly Conference secured the services of an architect to make preliminary studies of such a building.

Finally, during the closing days of the ministry of the Reverend Harry Campbell who served from 1951-December, 1954, the congregation raised sufficient funds to assure the successful building of the church which we are consecrating today.

Since Dr. Campbell's departure, the Reverend Kendall Sands has nourished the original enthusiasm ar.d led the congregation in securing even additional funds for completely furnishing the church.

With today's consecration service Methodists Culver are realizing a dreem come true. God has been merciful to Culver Methodists. Starting with nothing, they now have a church of over 400 members, a Sunday School which averages over 150 in attendance, an understanding and forward-locking Board, a well organized Woman's Society of Christian Service, many willing woi kers in every department of church activity. They are fortunate in having had minsters who did much for the church in its spiritual of His people

June 22 1955 - Citizen

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