Mountain Brook in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Canterbury United Methodist Church
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, May 15, 2021
1. Canterbury United Methodist Church Marker
Canterbury is the oldest existing establishment in Mountain Brook. It was organized in 1867 as Irondale Methodist when enough settlers to support the church moved into the area around the Irondale Furnace. The first time the North Alabama Conference met in the Birmingham District was in 1874 in the workshop of the furnace. At that time delegates decided to erect their first church on property donated by Pleasant Hickman Watkins on present-day Hollywood Blvd. west of Mountain Brook Village. The name changed to Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1928, when Robert Jemison began developing Mountain Brook, the church was renovated and called the prettiest country church in the United States, then became Canterbury Methodist Episcopal Church.
This church is the result of the merger of two active churches, Canterbury and Mountain Book Methodist churches. The latter was organized in 1912 as Crestline Community Church, and within the year a sanctuary was erected on Church Street in Crestline Heights. In 1942, a renovation greatly improved the building and the name changed to Mountain Brook Methodist Church. That building is now Steeple Arts. In 1948, under the encouragement of the membership of both churches, a new church was formed. The site selected was formerly a cow pasture of Bearden Dairy. The first service in
this page online
Erected by Canterbury United Methodist Church and the Birmingham-Jefferson Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.
Location. 33° 29.366′ N, 86° 45.316′ W. Marker is in Mountain Brook, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It can be reached from Overbrook Road, on the left when traveling north. The marker is located on the church grounds and may be difficult to see from the road because of the distance and the trees. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Birmingham AL 35213, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Birmingham Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Robert Jemison, Jr. (1878-1974) / The Old Mill (1927) (approx. 0.6 miles away); Mountain Brook (approx. 0.9 miles away); America's First Office Park (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Early Mountain Brook Village Area (approx. 1.1 miles away); Lane Park (approx. 1.3 miles away); Union Hill Cemetery, Union Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, Union Hill School (approx. 1.4 miles away); a different marker also named Union Hill Cemetery
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, May 15, 2021
2. Canterbury United Methodist Church Marker Reverse
Photographed by David J Gaines, December 28, 2011
3. Canterbury United Methodist Church Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on April 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 31, 2011, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,265 times since then and 24 times this year. Last updated on May 31, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 17, 2023, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 3. submitted on December 31, 2011, by David J Gaines of Pinson, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
