History Of
Haynesville United Methodist Church
The frontier life of our Methodist Church in Haynesville began back in 1850, soon after the first settlement was made in what we now call the "Old Town". Land for the location of the first church was donated by J. C. Taylor, one of Haynesville's oldest and most prominent merchants, who has been called "the father of the first community of Haynesville."
On the site where the present Old Town Cemetery now is located, a little log church was built and was used as a place of worship until it was destroyed by fire. On the same location, between 1855 - 1860 a frame church was built by Joseph W. Camp and a Choctaw Indian. The foundation for the church consisted of sills forty-eight feet long, which the builders had hewn out of virgin timber. The sleepers and corner posts were also hand-hewn. When the Civil War was declared, Mr. Camp had to go into service before the one-room church was covered. He finished it when he returned from the war.
In 1878 or 1879 a storm destroyed this church. It was rebuilt in 1880 or 1881 by John W. McEachern and an old black man known as "Uncle Gus Gilmore." They used the same sills and sleepers that were used in the first frame building built by Mr. Camp. This building was torn down in 1932. The same sills and sleepers, with the salvaged lumber, were sold to the Negro Methodist Episcopal Church in Haynesville for $100.00.
Early charter members and leaders of these pioneer churches were the families of A. N. Brown, Tom Brown, Frank Brown, C. A. Burnham, Joseph W. Camp, Jim Moss, J.C. and A. C. Sale and R.A.N. Winn.
Great was the excitement in 1898 when the news spread that a railroad would be built connecting the Haynesville community with the town of Homer, and that a site had been selected for a New Town, two miles north of the Old Town.
The Methodist congregation in Old Town lost no time in making a decision to move the congregation to New Haynesville. In 1900 the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a frame building built by Crate Moore of Homer, was erected on the site where the present church now stands. This building was destroyed by a storm in 1902 and was rebuilt by Rev. R. B. Kirkpatrick, a Presbyterian minister, and Thomas W. Camp. It served as a place of worship until 1922 when the ground was cleared for the erection of the present brick church under the leadership of the pastor, Rev. A. J. Gearheard. During the years since its construction, the sanctuary, with its beautiful stained glass windows placed as memorials to loved leaders of the church, its oaken pews and alter, its melodious pipe organ, a memorial gift by the children of Mr. and Mrs. W. Z. Taylor, have created an atmosphere of reverence and worship in the hearts of those who have made up the congregations.
The United Church
- The Uniting Conference meeting in Kansas City, MO on May 10, 1939 made the following declaration:
- "The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and The Methodist
Protestant Church are and shall be one United Church". (The
Methodist Discipline, 1948, p.7)
Applying this declaration to our local churches, The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, known as The First Methodist Church and The Methodist Protestant Church, known as the Shady Grove Memorial Protestant Church were united to become the Haynesville Methodist Church.
For approximately 18 years (1939-1957) the congregation had and used two church buildings and parsonages. Since they were located only two blocks apart, one building was used for morning services and the other for evening services. Sunday School classes and youth groups met in both churches. The former Methodist Protestant Church building and parsonage were sold to the United Pentecostal Congregation in 1957. This money was dedicated to be used to build a new parsonage to be a memorial to the former Protestant pioneers. The corner-stone from the former Methodist Protestant Church was moved along with its contents and placed beside the cornerstone of the present building. Names from the memorial windows were placed on windows of this building.
The former Methodist Episcopal parsonage is now used as "The Craft House", a valuable asset to our church and community.
In 1950-51 under the capable and arduous leadership of the pastor, Rev. W. D. Milton, an $80,000 educational building was erected and fully equipped.
In 1954-55, when Rev. J. H. Midyett was pastor, the church installed a new lighting system, air conditioning and public address system. A beautiful red velvet chancel drapery was given in memory of Miss Winnie Camp by Mrs. Elizabeth Camp Pritchett.
During the 1960s the sanctuary was refurbished with gold carpet, pew cushions, and new chancel drapery. Opera chairs were added to the rear of the sanctuary. Protective covering was installed over the stained-glass windows, and a parking lot was completed.
In a ceremony in Dallas, TX on April 23, 1968 the Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form The United Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Women
The first Missionary Society in Haynesville was organized under the leadership of Mrs. J. M. Weems, wife of the pastor in 1902. The first president was Mrs. A. N. Garland.
Many changes have taken place in the women's work of the church. The Ladies' Aid or Parsonage Committee, the names given to the earlier women's organization, were changed as progressive steps were made to Woman's Missionary Society because of the enlarged programs of work.
In 1940 the women of the United Church became known as the Woman's Society of Christian Service. Mrs. A. H. Hunt was its first president. The professional women's group, organized by Mrs. B. H. Andrews and Mrs. W. O. Lynch, became The Wesleyan Service Guild and was very active for many years.
In 1968 after unification with The Evangelical United Brethren Church, the group became The United Methodist Women. From a small band of timid women who paid ten cents dues per month, it now has become one of the biggest organizations in the world, having a membership of one and one-half million.
Pastors Of The Methodist Episcopal Church, South
| 1861-62 | P. L. Henderson |
| 1862-63 | John McFarland |
| 1863-65 | John Miller |
| 1865-66 | John Truslow |
| 1867-70 | W. C. Haislip |
| 1871-74 | J. A. Miller |
| 1875-77 | Robert Flournoy |
| 1875-77 | Robert Flournoy |
| 1878-81 | J.E. Bradley |
| 1881-85 | J. A. Miller |
| 1886-87 | C. R. Godfrey |
| 1888-89 | F. G. Hocutt |
| 1890-92 | H. E. May |
| 1893 | Robert Howell |
| 1894-97 | R. S. Collier |
| 1898 | Robert Howell |
| 1899-00 | N. S. Cornell |
| 1900-01 | W. A. Clark |
| 1902-04 | B. H. Shepherd |
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| 1905-06 | J. M. Weems |
| 1906-07 | S. J. Davis |
| 1908-10 | W. T. Woodard |
| 1911 | L. I. McCain |
| 1912 | C. D. Anders |
| 1913-15 | W. W. Perry |
| 1916 | A. S. J. Neil |
| 1917-18 | John G. Sloan |
| 1919-20 | J. F. Dring |
| 1921 | W. F. Henderson |
| 1922-26 | A. J. Gearheard |
| 2 mos 1926 | C. W. Crisler |
| 1927-29 | H. M. Johnson |
| 1929-30 | F. J. McCoy |
| 1931-33 | Cleanth Brooks |
| 1934-35 | W. H. Royal |
| 1936-37 | B. H. Andrews |
| 1938 | B. F. Rogers |
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Pastors Of The Haynesville Methodist Church
| 1938-44 | Louis Hoffpauir |
| 1944-47 | W. L. Doss, Jr. |
| 1947-53 | W. D. Milton |
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| 1953-59 | J. H. Midyett |
| 1959-63 | K. G. Rorie |
| 1963-67 | A. G. Taylor |
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Pastors Of The United Methodist Church
| 1967-69 | Henry Bowden |
| 1969-73 | Jack Winegeart |
| 1973-76 | Lael S. Jones |
| 1976-80 | William D. Peeples |
| 1980-81 | Wallace P. Blackwood |
| 1981-85 | Louis M. Coppage, Jr. |
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| 1985-89 | George McVay |
| 1989-93 | Byrd Terry |
| 1993-98 | George Cunningham |
| 1998-99 | Penn Morgan |
| 1999- | Byron Putnam |
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