The First United Methodist Church of Tallassee

The First United Methodist Church of Tallassee. Founded 1853. The history of this church encompasses the span of worldwide Methodism from the time of John Wesley to the present. A Methodist Society was organized in Tallassee in 1853 by 15 charter members who gathered in the "White Store," a mill company store located on Barnett Boulevard. The first church building was erected at the northwest end of King Street in 1854. Built by Archibald Patterson, it seated 450 and had a balcony for black members. The first minister was Harris Stearns. Another early preacher at this church was Anson West, author of Methodism in Alabama, who was followed by a long line of distinguished, scholarly pastors. The earliest reported marriage was that of W. A. Atkins to Matilda Jane Wilson on May 2, 1866. In 1898, an Upjohn-style church was built on King Street. Bishop Asa Candler dedicated this building, which was later used by Tallassee schools and burned in 1940. On June 26, 1926, members voted to construct the congregation's current brick church at 1 Jordan Avenue, and Opening Day, February 29, 1929, was presided over by Bishop Hoyt M. Dobbs. , (Continued on other side).

(Continued from other side). , The first funeral held in this church was that of Kate Burton Herren on January 14, 1929. The first wedding was that of W. Silas Mulder and Sarah Sasser. The church then was under the leadership of Exhorter, L.M. Lackey and Lay Leader, Merton Robinson. In 1936, Bishop John Lloyd Decell presided over the burning of the church mortgage. Rev. James E. Tate organized the 1953 Centennial Homecoming. The two-story Annex was built under the pastorate of Rev. Joe Ed Hastings, whose father, F.G. Hastings, had guided the construction of this church. The church bell is inscribed “Jones and Company, Troy, New York, 1855." What began as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is now the First United Methodist Church of Tallassee. From 2004-2005, this church underwent a restoration under Shook Whorton of Montgomery, AL. In 2004, the Heritage Committee of the Alabama- West Florida Conference awarded the FUMC of Tallassee the Church Heritage Award. It was listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2003.

This information compiled by Olivia Pienezza Solomon , author of Our Bethel, a History of this Church. . This historical marker was erected by Alabama Historical Commission. It is in Tallassee in Elmore County Alabama