One Township's Yesterdays Chapter LI  

CHRONICLE OF THE CHURCHES

Zion Church

Poplar Grove M. E. Church

Church at Maxinkuckee

North Union M. E. Church

The North Union M. E. Church, gone some years now, was located about two and one-half miles northwest of Culver, just over the line in Starke County, and attended by a number of people residing in Union Township. The church building was struck by lightning on the evening of May 19, 1917, and was totally destroyed. The building was of wood construction and had been erected about thirty years previous, around 1887.

GEORGE W. OSBORN, who removed from that neighborhood to Culver in the Fall of 1916, was one of the trustees of the North Union Church. Reverend RODGERS of Leiters Ford was the minister in change at the time of the fire. The church edifice was directly across the road from Mrs. ALBERT OVERMYER's. Her home was burned over a year previous and not long afterward rebuilt.

East Washington Church

The East Washington Methodist Protestant Church, concerning which the writer has an hand only a few notes, was erected in 1886. In that year, the Evangelical people of the Washington section helped to build the Methodist Protestant structure, one mile east from where their own church now stands, for the privilege of worshiping there and holding English services. In 1891 the Evangelical people withdrew and in the same year began preparations for their own church.

Thirty years ago, the Rev. THOMAS WHITTAKER was preaching his farewell sermon at the East Washington M. P. Church (in August, 1905), after which the Reverend LINEBERRY, president of the Conference, took charge of the Maxinkuckee Circuit and Reverend WHITTAKER of the Keystone Circuit. The WHITTAKER family, after having been at Washington five years, moved to Keystone. In October, _ 05, Reverend ROGERS was moving into the parsonage at Washington, so we read in old newspaper files. Many still remain in that neighborhood who could recall much concerning the churches there, and could provide a wealth of material to add perhaps to some later and more complete chronicle of the churches of Union Township.

The Methodist Church

The Evangelical Church

The United Brethren Church

The Church of God

The Christian Church

The Episcopal Church

In November, 1905, the Culver members of the Episcopal Church purchased a lot of Captain ED MORRIS for $150. They contemplated erecting a church building the following year. The building did not materialize. The members of the church finally gave up the idea of having a congregation in Culver, and in later, years have attended services at the church in Plymouth.

The All Saints Guild was active in Culver and vicinity around the years 1904 and 1905. The guild would meet with different hostesses. We have record that meetings were held at the homes of Mrs. H. J. NOBLE, Mrs. LORD, and Mrs. FRANK LAMSON at the Palmer House

The Catholic Church

The African M. E. Church

When the Evangelists Came

Thrilling days were those, 'way back in the early 'nineties, when several of America's foremost evangelists came to the shores of Maxinkuckee, and figured in "revivals" or "camp meetings" under the trees and amidst the glories of nature, beside the blue waters of the beautiful lake. And the name of a man who did a very great deal to perpetuate the fame and beauty of the lake is linked with the widely-known names of the "revivalists." One associates evangelists with H. H. CULVER. It was Mr. CULVER who was responsible for their coming to the lake.

The revival meetings were held in a tabernacle located on the present Culver Military Academy grounds at the northwest corner of the lake. And there came T. DE WITT TALNTADGE and SAM JONES to conduct the meetings and to deliver their remarkable soul-inspiring sermons and to lend their magnetic presence to the gatherings of many people from miles and miles around. For about two weeks, the meetings lasted. And it was financed by Mr. CULVER.

A witness of these happenings says that folks got pretty much excited, and there were not a few conversions. Interest became widespread, and people were attracted from far and wide. The meeting grounds were surrounded by a fence (seems to me it was made of rails or something of the sort). And they say that folks just crowded under that fence (or maybe they swarmed under). They got in, anyway.

As for the tabernacle that had been honored by such distinguished presences and had rung to such eloquence and inspirational discourse, it became the Academy mess hall - - the old mess hall, and not of course the splendid structure of today.

One could go on and on telling about these revivalist days - - and one would like to do so - - but time is fleeting, and there is so much else to be said, that we must be hurrying on.

Hard Times at Hibbard

Many, many years ago, so the story goes, Hibbard had quite a struggle to get ahead, to convince the world that it really was a very self-respecting and law-abiding community despite the name which had been thrust or wished upon it, that awesome name of "Helltown."

Now Hibbard had been designated quite officially as Dante, and the mail Dante of olden times told folks a great deal about the Inferno, the under regions of eternal fire and damnation, but since Dante was a respectable man (at least, we think he was, and perhaps a pious one too), there is no reason why his name should be contorted into Helltown. Perhaps it was because Dante was a foreigner and Helltown was so downright American.

An old resident of that region (not the Inferno, but Dante-Helltown-Hibbard) tells us a little secret about Hibbard, which sort of lets the church folks out. He says that when Hibbard was called Helltown, church was then held in the school house (religion and education were sharing the same premises), and the church people were not yet equipped properly and fully to lick the devil.

As time progressed in this little cross-rails town, the church people grew stronger and stronger and the devil around there got weaker and weaker.

At length church moved out of the school house, and after a while edifices were reared to the honor of the Lord. The devil was cowed; his satanic majesty's henchmen and lieutenants did less cavorting about the neighborhood and began to look for more fertile (or maybe more arid) fields elsewhere.

Helltown became Helltown no longer. Finally the devil admitted himself beaten, and withdrew his forces, whilst the churches rejoiced.

Now, that's the story, embellished a little no doubt, but said to be not so very far removed from the truth. after all.