Sandusky in Erie County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Sandusky’s First Congregation — 1818

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 7, 2019

1. Sandusky’s First Congregation — 1818 Marker

Inscription. The Methodist Episcopal Church pioneered organized religion in Perkins Township 1811, then in Sandusky when the Rev. Alfred Brunson preached the city’s first sermon in January, 1818. In 1829 the Methodists built Sandusky’s first church, on West Square, and had later churches on the present sites of the Court House and Post Office. This building was begun in 1922, the sanctuary completed in 1958. The Perkins and Sandusky congregations united in 1930.

Erected 1978 by Trinity United Methodist Church and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 6-22.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1818.

Location. 41° 27.192′ N, 82° 42.441′ W. Marker is in Sandusky, Ohio, in Erie County. It is on East Jefferson Street just east of Wayne Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 214 E Jefferson St, Sandusky OH 44870, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jackson Jr. High School (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Oran Follett (about 400 feet away); Lester S. Hubbard House (about

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500 feet away); Knute Rockne Wedding (about 600 feet away); Sandusky Telephone Building (about 600 feet away); Sandusky (about 700 feet away); Adams Street Double House (about 700 feet away); First Congregational Church (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sandusky.

Also see . . . Trinity United Methodist Church celebrating 200th anniversary on Sunday. 2018 article by Eilene Guy in the Sandusky Register. Excerpt:

On Aug. 9, 1828, a town meeting was called to consider the importance and expediency of providing divine service. A committee raised enough pledges from the 200 or so households in town to support a full-time pastor, and the majority voted for the Methodist denomination.

The following year, the Rev. William Runnels arrived to find, according to documents, “No church edifice, no public buildings open for religious services, but one small school house out in the commons in the goose pasture.”

(Submitted on October 31, 2019.)

Erie County Historical Society, September 12, 2024

2. Sandusky’s First Congregation — 1818 Marker

In 2024 the Trinity United Methodist Church restored this marker.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 7, 2019

3. Sandusky’s First Congregation — 1818 Marker

Trinity United Methodist Church School and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, August 7, 2019

4. Trinity United Methodist Church School and Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 392 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 31, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 2. submitted on December 2, 2024, by Erie County Historical Society of Sandusky, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on October 31, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.