Eldora
Iowa
Add an Article
Add an Event
Edit
Eldora United Methodist Church
Mission
The mission of the United Methodist Church of Eldorais for each person to knowJesus Christ ashis or herpersonal Savoir and to move with faith as disciples to nurture others.
History
The Eldora United Methodist Church is the oldest continuous church in Eldora. In 1849, Greenberg Haggen first settled on the Iowa River in Union Township. Nine more families came to the same location in 1850. Eldora was surveyed, platted, and designated the county seat during the summer of 1853. The first sale of town lots was in July of 1853.
In the fall of 1854, the Eldora United Methodist Church had its beginning in Samuel Edgington's cabin on 15th Avenue, now the empty lot west of Napa Auto Parts. There were seventeen members in the first congregation. Services in those pioneer days were held in the log cabins of the members.
The first schoolhouse in Eldora was built on the very site where our present church sits. When the second schoolhouse was built, the Methodists purchased the first one. The year of this transaction is unknown. In 1861 the pastor's salary was $220.45. At that time there were few hymnals, and Miss Hattie Ball accompanied hymns on a little organ she carried to and from church under her arm. In 1869 a new church building was dedicated at a cost of $5,000. Another parsonage was erected in 1871 for $800. The church was on the present site and the parsonage was south of the church. The first brick church building was dedicated in 1891 at a cost of $16,000.
The Ladies' Aid society was organized in 1854, meeting every Wednesday to knit and mend for the needy. During the Civil War the ladies provided clothing for soldiers, and after the war they helped families of soldiers who had been killed. The Ladies' Aid were active in every church project, contributing to the construction of every church through 1929.
The mission of the United Methodist Church of Eldorais for each person to knowJesus Christ ashis or herpersonal Savoir and to move with faith as disciples to nurture others.
History
The Eldora United Methodist Church is the oldest continuous church in Eldora. In 1849, Greenberg Haggen first settled on the Iowa River in Union Township. Nine more families came to the same location in 1850. Eldora was surveyed, platted, and designated the county seat during the summer of 1853. The first sale of town lots was in July of 1853.
In the fall of 1854, the Eldora United Methodist Church had its beginning in Samuel Edgington's cabin on 15th Avenue, now the empty lot west of Napa Auto Parts. There were seventeen members in the first congregation. Services in those pioneer days were held in the log cabins of the members.
The first schoolhouse in Eldora was built on the very site where our present church sits. When the second schoolhouse was built, the Methodists purchased the first one. The year of this transaction is unknown. In 1861 the pastor's salary was $220.45. At that time there were few hymnals, and Miss Hattie Ball accompanied hymns on a little organ she carried to and from church under her arm. In 1869 a new church building was dedicated at a cost of $5,000. Another parsonage was erected in 1871 for $800. The church was on the present site and the parsonage was south of the church. The first brick church building was dedicated in 1891 at a cost of $16,000.
The Ladies' Aid society was organized in 1854, meeting every Wednesday to knit and mend for the needy. During the Civil War the ladies provided clothing for soldiers, and after the war they helped families of soldiers who had been killed. The Ladies' Aid were active in every church project, contributing to the construction of every church through 1929.