The following history is taken from an anniversary booklet
prepared in the 1990’s.
History of Elkton United Methodist Church
Preface
The history of this church began in 1821 when the Elk Run Liberty
meeting House was built and supplied by Methodist preachers. A white
frame church was built in 1894-1896 on this present location and
called the Elkton Episcopal Church, South. In 1921 the church was
bricked and is now the Elkton United Methodist Church.
This booklet is dedicated to the memory of all the faithful members of
this church who gave of their time and talents in service to our Lord
Jesus Christ, throughout the years.
The Elkton Methodist Episcopal Church became a station preaching
appointment in 1892. The first minister was W. M. Waters. Before this
time it was a part of the Rockingham Circuit, later divided into East
and West Rockingham Circuits. The West Rockingham Circuit consisted
of nine appointments or preaching points. The Elkton Methodist built
this frame Church in 1896. The Church dates back 175 years to the Elk
Run Liberty Meeting House and 100 years to this Church built on our
present location. It was remodeled and additional rooms added, brick
facing the entire building in 1921. The pastor at that time was Harry
Coffey.
The Elkton United Methodist history dates back before 1822, however,
the first house of worship, The Elk Run Liberty Meeting House, was
built in that year by Henry Monger, Jr. at a cost of $160,000. The
building was thirty by thirty-six feet with a divider through the middle
dividing men and women, and a balcony for seating overflow crowds.
It was located where the Elk Run Cemetery is now located. The
Meeting House was built by the Methodists and reserved two Sundays
each month for their use, and it was open to other Christian groups or
denominations the other Sundays. It was also used for School and
various other types of community meetings. Even for a guardhouse
during the Civil War. It was dismantled and the lumber used to build a
caretaker’s house for the cemetery. It is still in use.
The New Parsonage was built in 1969 during the pastorate of William P. Berry.
The upper ground level contains a spacious living room with a
fireplace, dining room, kitchen, four bedrooms, two baths and an
abundance of closet space. The lower ground level contains the
pastor’s study, a large family room with a fireplace, half bath, laundry
room and a large storage room. There is a private entrance to the
pastor’s study from the carport. The cost of building was $36.500.00,
however, it was immediately valued at $40,000.00 since a
considerable amount of labor was donated by members of the
congregation. The old parsonage located across from the Church was
razed and the ground is being used for parking.
Methodist Ministers
“Elk Run Liberty Meeting House”
1823-1891
Rev. James Sewell – 1823
Rev. P. D. Lipscomb – 1824
Rev. W. Loney and Rev. B. N. Brown – 1842
Rev. B. N. Brown – 1843
Rev. W. M. Krebs – 1844
Rev. George W. Israel – 1846-47
Rev. Andrew J. Myers – 1848
Rev. T. A. Morgan – 1849
Rev. W. F. Speake – 1851
Rev. John W. Hoover – 1852
Rev. T. T. Wysong and Rev. J. W. Gray – 1861
Rev. Hamilton A. Gaver – 1866
Rev. Hamilton A. Gaver – 1867
Rev. J. F. Leggett – 1868-1870
Rev. L. S. Reed and Rev. H. D. Bishop – 1870
Rev. J. F. Leggett – 1871
Rev. W. H. Wilson – 1872
Rev. W. M. Ross – 1873
Rev. F. A. Strother and Rev. Henry Calwell – 1875
Rev. Francis Strather – 1876-1878
Rev. Lewis W. Graybill – 1879-1882
Rev. H. M. Stricker – 1883-1885
Rev. L. L. Loyd – 1886
Rev. W. A. McDonald – 1889
Rev. W. S. McDonald – 1890
Rev. J. C. Dice and Rev. C. W. Lusby – 1891
Methodist Ministers When
The Elkton United Methodist Church Became A Station
Rev. W. M. Waters – 1892-1894
Rev. T. M. Brown – 1894-1896
Rev. W. B. Dorsey – 1896-1899
Rev. J. C. Hawk – 1899-1900
Rev. J. H. Wilhite – 1900-1905
Rev. S. K. Cox – 1903-1907
Rev. H. D. Coe – 1907-1909
Rev. M. T. Tabler – 1909-1913
Rev. C. S. Stanton – 1913-1915
Rev. C. L. Potter – 1915-1920
Rev. H. S. Coffey – 1920-1924
Rev. W. D. King – 1924-1926
Rev. W. M. Compton – 1926-1928
Rev. E. A. Roades – 1928-1931
Rev. E. A. Wilcher – 1931-1932
Rev. A. Van Devander – 1932-1936
Rev. A. B. Snapp – 1936-1938
Rev. W. A. Lynch – 1938-1941
Rev. J. W. Bouldin – 1941-1942
Dr. R. K. Eutsler – 1942-Summer
Rev. R. V. Bellamy – 1942-1945
Rev. C. N. Chappell – 1945–Summer
Dr. R. K. Eutsler – 1945-Feb. 1, 1949
Rev. E. A. Plunkett – 1949-1951
Dr. R. B. Proctor – 1951-1955
Rev. Floyd M. Lucas – 1955-1960
Rev. Carl Yow – 1960-1962
Rev. Charles Blalock – 1962-1966
Rev. William P. Berry – 1966-1969
Rev. Willard R. Floyd – 1970-1974
Rev. Robert Brookover – 1974-1977
Rev. Alan Reifsnyder – 1977-1981
Rev. John Hamm – 1981-1982
Rev. Brooke Willson – 1982-1988
Dr. Walter Graham – 1988-1990
Dr. William Moore – 1990-1992
Rev. David Reynolds – 1992-2017
Rev. Debbie Powell – 2017 to present