The story of the Methodist church in Washington, Iowa began in William Harvey’s log cabin on a farm southwest of town. In that cabin, on October 20, 1839, the Reverend J. L. Kirkpatrick, a missionary from the Rock River Conference in Illinois, preached a sermon and organized a society which became the First Methodist Episcopal Church. The charter members were Jesse Asby and wife, daughters Polly and Julie, Mr. and Mrs. Conner, W. L. Harvey and wife Eli Patterson.

In the next year, 1840, the Methodists worshiped in the old log schoolhouse in town. It was located a block north of the present Reformed Presbyterian Church. While in that building the Sunday School was organized with Jesse Asby as superintendent.

In 1841 the congregation held services in the courthouse which was located on the west side of the block south across from the square. In 1843 the Methodists moved their place of worship to a brick schoolhouse located in the second block north of the current school administration building.

By 1847 the concentration had grown to thirty and was allowed to meet in the new courthouse which was built in the center of the town square. At that time it was decided to build a house of worship. The first church was a frame building located in the block south of the Opera House (the State Theater today).

It was later moved to East Jefferson and remodeled into a house. The first building project was completed in 1848 under the ministry of the Reverend E. W. Twining. In the winter of 1855-56 another building campaign was launched. The new building was a two-story structure 40 feet x 60 feet located where the First Christian Church is today. It was used as a place of worship and was also a home for the minister and his family. G. W. Teas was the minister. The brick building cost $6,913.20 and the congregation had grown to 110 persons.

By 1891 the members had again outgrown their home and a third building was planned with construction to begin when $15,000 had been subscribed. That must not have taken long as the old building was torn down and the new church was dedicated on April 10, 1982. At the time of the dedication the full amount of the cost, $23,000, had been subscribed and the congregation was completely out of debt. The organ was a gift of the Epworth League and the pastor at the time was Reverend H. E. Wing. That building is now the home of the First Christian Church, although the original steeple has been removed.

By 1907, when the Reverend Ulysses S. Smith was sent to the Washington Methodist Episcopal Church, there were 768 members and again the church building was getting too small! On May 9, 1911, the Official Board decided that a new building must be erected. It was stated that $40,000 must be raised first and Mrs. Elizabeth Snyder agreed to donate $5,000 for a new organ.

By fall, the $40,000 had been subscribed and the land on which the church was to be built had been purchased for $12,000. It is where the United Methodist Church is located today. $2,500 of the money was pledged by the Ladies’ Aid Society. They held many church suppers, bazaars and ten cent teas to raise the money.

Construction of the church began in August in 1912. The choir loft was built to hold seventy people and the church could seat 1,400 when the dividing door was raised. The church was dedicated on April 26, 1914 at a total cost of $85,000 and with a membership of over 1,000. At this service the congregation marched from the old church down the block to the new building.

In 1934 carpeting was laid in the church at a cost of $1,647.78. In 1935 the Ladies’ Aid Society borrowed $1,500 at 6% interest from Dora Jones to redecorate the church.

During the pastorate of the Reverend Arthur Atack the mortgage was burned in a special ceremony following a potluck supper. O. E. Schmitt, president of the Men’s Club, produced the mortgage and Mrs. O. E. Schmitt, president of the Ladies’ Aid Society, lit the match. The ashes were produced to the trustees.

Although the church was frequently in debt, this was the first mortgage the church had ever had. As a surprise at the end of the program, O. E. Schmitt gave a check for $100 to the Ladies’ Aid Society for their support and loyalty.

In 1946 the northwest room in the basement of the church was transformed into the Ladies’ Parlor so the Women’s Society of Christian Service and other groups would have a place in which to hold meetings. In 1957 the northeast room in the back of the church was outfitted as a chapel by Mr. and Mrs. Merle Lytle in memory of their daughter, Mary Ellen Lytle, who was killed in an airplane crash.

In 1959 the W.S.C.S. remodeled the church kitchen at a cost of $11,232.74. $3,500 was borrowed for the project with Myra Crawford and Minnie Maxwell co-signing the note.

On the fiftieth anniversary of the building of the church it was decided to remodel the sanctuary. The Reverend Lloyd A. Latta was the senior pastor at the time. The stairways leading from the balconies to the front of the church were removed, the choir loft dismantled, the organ pipes placed behind a screen and the platform and pulpit area redesigned. The organ console was rebuilt and relocated to the east side of the platform and the choir pews placed on each side of the communion table.

A stencil design of the Holy Spirit was placed on the wall above the dividing door and red carpeting was laid on the sanctuary floor. The cost of remodeling was $50,000 and church membership was 1,434 persons.

In 1968 the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined with the Methodist Episcopal Church on a national level we became the United Methodist Church. By 1970 the Women’s Society of Christian Service had become the United Methodist Women.

In 1972 a gift from Eva Coffey gave the church an elevator which was installed at the west entrance of the church to enable people to go up to the Sanctuary or down to the Fellowship Hall.

The Methodists had owned the lot west of the church for several years and had rented out apartments in the house but, as the Sunday School had grown, it became necessary to move several of the classes to the house. The basement was a great place to teach children about the catacombs but it was decided that an education building was needed.

A new building, Wesley Center, was completed in 1977. It houses the church offices, the library, the nursery and classrooms. Connecting the two buildings at the Sanctuary level is a skywalk. The pastor, at that time, was Dr. J. Roland Crandall. The cost of the new facility was $411,408.77.

In 1978 air conditioning was installed in the church as a gift from Bill Sitler. The 140^th anniversary of the church was celebrated on October 21, 1979 with a special service. New carpet was laid in Fellowship Hall in 1985, walls were painted and wooden sliding panels were installed on each side to replace the portable screens that had been used to divide the Sunday School classes.

In 1991 the church kitchen was updated with new appliances, flooring, cupboards, paint and a room built to hold reception dishes, equipment and linens.

A Renovation Fund was established in 1991 and the 1995 Charge Conference elected a Renovation Committee to address the current needs of the church building. The committee met with E. J. Potente, a church design consultant, to work out a plan for the sanctuary and east entrance to the church.

At the same time the organ was to be completely dismantled and rebuilt. The work started in 1998 with the removal of the organ pipes. The pews were removed and sent away for refinishing. The stairs on the east side of the church were removed and an entrance built at street level with a new stairway built inside the church.

The platform in the front of the church was removed and replaced with a wooden floored one that is wider and lower with fewer steps. All the furniture, including the organ console, piano, choir chairs an risers, pulpit and communion table can be moved as needed.

The organ console was rebuilt and most of the pipes are again in view. New carpeting and light fixtures were installed. The church was rewired as needed, a new sound system and video equipment installed in the west balcony, the woodwork was refinished where possible and new woodwork stained to match the old. The sanctuary was painted for the first time since 1962.

Preceding the construction, all the stained glass windows in the sanctuary and the dome were cleaned, releaded and repaired as needed by Wendel Guy. During this time the congregation met for services in Fellowship Hall.

The altar area was installed in the northeast corner by the stairway and a large latchhooked wall hanging, fabricated by William Burham, of the Leonardo da Vinci The Last Supper was used as a backdrop. Church services were returned to the sanctuary in 2000.

The total cost of the renovation was about 1.2 million dollars and the current church membership is 863. The senior pastor during the renovation was the Reverend Robert Bell and the associate pastor was the Reverend Mark Young.

This brief account of the Washington United Methodist Church shows how it has grown and moved into the third century by trusting and following the Will of God.

Although this history focuses on the physical side of the church, it is the dedicated members who have kept the faith alive for over 160 years. They have always continued to invest massive amounts of time, energy and financial resources in local, state, national and international mission and outreach enterprises seeking to fulfill John Wesley’s declaration: “The World Is My Parish.”