Hardin United Methodist Church

Hardin United Methodist Church The church building is at 315 NE First Street, just south of the Hardin School. Sunday Worship is 10:00 AM. Rev. B. H. Snowden. In 1903 Rev. Lovick P. W. Dawson, S. P. M.

History of the
United Methodist Church
Hardin Missouri

The first settlement of white people west of Grand River between the Missouri River and the Iowa line was made in August, 1815, at Buffalo, about one and one-half miles southwest of the present site of Hardin. This settlement seemed to be formed of the Primitive Baptist faith. In the winter of 1815, under the leadership of the Rev. Finis C

lark, the Baptists held the first services in the vicinity of Hardin. The meetings were held in the log hut of Issac Martin on the west bank of Crooked River. William Turnage, Baptist, was the first regular preacher in the community. He began preaching in the Buffalo settlement, in 1816. After 1820, local Methodist preachers made irregular visits to this settlement and preached in the homes of Methodists. We are unable to ascertain to what circuit of work these churches were attached until the organization of the Fishing River Circuit in 1832. At first all the services were held in the homes until schoolhouses began to be built. Even after the first church was built the services continued to be held in schoolhouses probably because the schoolhouses were nearer the settlers. The mode of travel in those days was by walking or ox wagon. The first record of baptism by Methodists at Hardin were, James Esrey, Justin Esrey, and Thomas Esrey, on March 3, 1844. Hannah Esrey, Elvirah Esrey Shackelford, and Amanda Esrey Rohdes were baptized August 11, 1844. Spencer organized the Hardin Methodist Church in 1845, and as those of the Esrey family named above had been baptized the year before, we conclude they were among the charter members of the church. The first church erected in Hardin was the old Walnut Grove Church, built in 1859 on an acre of ground bought from Scyrena and J. It was a large frame building, which stood in the southeastern corner of the Hardin Cemetery. This church was organized as a Union Church. It is believed that the last services were held in the building in 1888. From this church the second generation of Methodism was beginning to extend its influence in the community. This church building had comparatively short life for with the building of the Wabash railroad around 1869, the town moved to the present site. The old church building was sold to a Mr. Stark and the lumber was used for the building of a barn on the Tom Brasher farm. History records that a schoolhouse of two rooms was built in 1870. This location is believed to be around 300 feet west of the intersection of 1st Street and West Elm Street. Some of the Methodist church services were held there. The first church erected in the present city of Hardin was built by the Methodist. This church was built in 1880 and stood on the east side of First Street on what is now the Santa Fe right-of –way. The north property line is believed to be Olive Street. The church building is reported to have cost $1,600. When the Santa Fe railroad was built in 1887 the church was moved to the present site. In the beginning the denomation was referred to as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In May, 1938, a union took place which changed the name to Methodist Church. In the decade of 1980 a union with the Evangelical United Brethren Church was approved thus changing the name to United Methodist. The Hardin Congregation has been a part of Chillicothe, Carrollton, Plattsburg, Richmond, Richmond-Chillicothe, Kansas City North Districts and Heartland Districts over the years of its existence. From the beginning the church had a growth comparative with the growth of the country and town. In 1881 the membership of the Hardin Methodist Church was 74, which included many pioneer families. A number of revivals and camp meetings were held through the years adding new members to the church. Marvin Harris held a revival, and the membership was considerably increased. The greatest revival in the history of the Hardin Methodist Church was held in 1905, by Rev. Law when the membership was increased by 100 members. Membership has been reported to have reached the 300 mark before the beginning of WWI. On a Sunday morning in November of 1895 the church structure burned. A building committee of C. Nelson, and J. Casli began the work of planning a new building. A new brick building with a sanctuary and an excavation large enough for the furnace and fuel storage was built. This building was completed in 1896. The church sanctuary’s look was enhanced by 13 beautiful stained glass windows. These windows were memorial gifts of the individual church members. J. Dempsey was the minister during the construction of the new church building. Bishop Hendricks gave the dedicatory sermon and the construction cost and cost of the furnishings amounting to $5,600 was fully paid. This building has survived 2 major floods and a tornado in the building’s first 120 years of life and is strong enough to serve as the place of worship for the UMC of Hardin for the next 100 years.

01/06/2025

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 1% ERS:
99% of people born between 1930 and 1946 (GLOBALLY) are now dead.
If you were born in this time span, your ages range between 77 and 93 years old (a 16-year age span) and you are one of the rare surviving one-percenters.
You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900's.
You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war that rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.
You are the last to remember ration books for everything from tea to sugar to shoes. You saved tin foil and poured fried meat fat into cans.
You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the "milk box" at the front door. Discipline was enforced by parents and teachers. You are the last generation who spent childhood without television and instead, you “imagined” what you heard on the radio.
With no TV, you spent your childhood "playing outside". There was no city playground for kids. The lack of television in your early years meant that you had little real understanding of what the world was like.
We got “black-and-white” TV in the late 50s that had 3 stations and no remote.
Telephones (if you had one) were one to a house and hung on the wall in the kitchen (who cares about privacy). Computers were called calculators; they were hand-cranked. Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon. INTERNET and GOOGLE were words that did not exist.
Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and your dad would give you the comic pages after he read the news. The news was broadcast on your radio in the evening. The radio network gradually expanded from 3 stations to thousands.
New highways would bring jobs and mobility. Most highways were 2 lanes and there were no Motorways. You went downtown to shop. You walked to school.
Your parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into working hard to make a living for their families.
You weren't neglected, but you weren't today's all-consuming family focus. They were glad you played by yourselves. They were busy discovering the postwar world. You entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where you were welcomed, enjoyed yourselves. You felt secure in your future, although the depression and poverty were deeply remembered.
Polio was still a crippler. Everyone knew someone who had it.
You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our country. World War 2 was over and the cold war, terrorism, global warming, and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life. Only your generation can remember a time after WW2 when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty. You grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better.
More than 99% of you are retired now, and you should feel privileged to have "lived in the best of times!" If you have already reached the age of 77 years old, you have outlived 99% of all the other people on this planet. You are a 1% 'er!
Photo: Esther Collings and her husband Ronald, who were Australia's oldest living couple in 2018

03/21/2024
03/19/2024

Address

101 NE 1st Street
Hardin, MO
64035

Telephone

(660) 398-4532

Website

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