Delhi United Methodist Church History

1847:                   Services were conducted by the circuit rider, Rev. Briar, known for his fiery sermons.

1852:                   A Methodist Society was organized; followed by a Sunday School;  Services were held in the Court House down by Silver Lake by Rev. George Gifford.

1855:                   Joint revival meeting was held by Rev. Gifford and Elder Farnsworth, the Baptist minister from Manchester.  Two converts were Rev. William Glassner and Rev. S. Knickerbocker, who served as pastor in Delhi in 1875. The Methodists built their first church in Delhi at a cost of $1,500.00.  First appointed minister was Rev. Davis who died before the year was up;  Rev. Soule, from Virginia replaced him.  Music was lead by a simple tuning fork to furnish the key.  Organs and pianos were considered too worldly and would draw attention away from the Word of God.

1861:                   The Civil War began and according to “A Star for Patriotism” 88 men from Delhi enlisted.   During the Civil War money was scarce.  The church was not paid for nor could the minister’s salary be raised.

1863:                   The church property was sold to the Catholic Society. Methodist services were then held in the courthouse (now the Legion Hall) and the old school house.

1868:                   Articles of Incorporation were drawn up and filed.  On July 25 the old town school house was purchased for $250.00.  Repairs cost $675.00 including the cost of a bell.  “There was a small entrance room on the west, from which an aisle ran through the center of the room to the pulpit.  The pews faced east.  An organ was used for the services.”  Sunday School was organized.  A Ladies Aid Society was formed with objectives to raise funds to cover church expenses.

1881:         Ladies Aid met to discuss re-roofing needs of the building, but decided a new church could be built.  A committee was formed and it was decided that at no time was the total indebtedness to exceed $100.

1883:                   Delaware and Uniontown (later to be known as Buck Creek) shared a minister.   His salary was $650 for the year ---$300 from Delhi, $250 from Uniontown and $100 from Delaware.   On May 25, a building site (Lots 9 and 10 on Block 9) was purchased for $10.   Building a church of brick was soon abandoned because no one in town would burn the brick.   The present frame building was adopted with a seating capacity of 200.

1884:                   The church building was dedicated on Sunday, February 24, 1884.  A statement showed all debts paid.

1870:                   At the Upper Iowa Conference it was declared that the camp meeting was “blessed of God in the conversion of sinners and purification of believers” and that that institution should be supported.

1885:                   The first Camp Meeting was held on the east shore of Silver Lake.  Later land for this purpose was purchased on the northwest shore of the lake.

1889:                   Shortly after services began on August 4, fire broke out in the building, known as Gleason’s Hotel, on the north side of the street.  When the alarm was sounded the men of the congregation quietly left the church while the women and children remained.  The fire spread very fast to other buildings and inside of two hours all the buildings on the south side of Main Street had burned with the exception of two.  Hard work saved the church.  Wet carpets and bedding were spread on the roof and sides of the building.

1895:                  An August annual camp meeting drew a crowd of 3,000.

1896:                   The last camp meeting was held.

1901:                   The land buildings at the camp meeting site were sold.

1910 –13:  Between these years one Sunday evening, when Epworth League was about to close, the janitor was lighting the kerosene lamps in the reflector lamp.  The reflector and lighted lamps fell down up on the pews and a fire resulted.  Mr. and Mrs. George White had just arrived.  He grabbed the lap robe from his buggy and filled it with sand while Mrs. White scoped up sand in the full skirt of her black silk dress.  By throwing this on the fire, the flames were extinguished before doing much damage.  For a time after the fire, church services were held in the Baptist Church.  The ministers of both churches each had two charges and would alternate their services, so that Delhi would always have a church service each Sunday.

1912:                   Remodeling after the fire included raising the building 10 feet , giving a fine basement for a dining room and kitchen as well as Sunday School rooms.  A new bell tower was built and a galley to the east with rolling doors.

1913:                   When the Baptist Society was disbanded, the church, the bell and all the equipment was disposed of. The bell was sold to a church at West Union for $180.00 but it was never delivered.  Many Delhi residents felt that a bell purchased by the citizens, by public subscription, should remain the property of the town and many were determined that the “old bell” should never leave Delhi.  It was called the “Garfield Bell” in honor of President Garfield who was assassinated in 1881. Having been cast in an old foundry at Troy, N.Y. by Jones and Co., it weighed 625 pounds and the frame had a weight of 200 pounds. The inscription on one side read:  “In memory of a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Beloved President James A. Garfield, 1881”.  The other side read:  “A voice has gone before every great achievement in the history of the world.”   It was prepared for shipment and delivered to the Milwaukee railroad to be shipped to West Union.  Some “good fairies” spirited the bell away, and for months its location was a secret.  One legend says it was hidden in Silver Lake.  During the time the bell was hidden Tom Simons took up the matter with the West Union church and finally bought the bell back, “providing it should be found.”    One morning several weeks later, the Garfield bell was found resting on the steps of the Methodist church and was later placed in the belfry.    The bell was a gift to the  church from Mr. Simons who in turn gave the former Methodist bell to St. John’s parish in Delhi.

1914:         On February 15, the remodeled church was dedicated.

The remodeling had cost $3,500 and there was $1,900 left to pay.  By the close of the service over $2,400 was  pledged and the building was again dedicated free from indebtedness.

1930’s:      Early in the 30’s there was a large and very active Men’s Sunday School Class.  A Gospel Quartet was formed from this group and sang together for many years.  Sometime in the 30’s Easter Sunday Sunrise Services began at Silver Lake Park. 

1937:         At noon on February  26, a fire was discovered in the church.  It had started in the furnace room and crept into the wall above.  It was extinguished by the firemen but not before doing much smoke damage.  A new furnace was needed and the northwest corner of the building was “squared out” to make more room for the choir. A new altar rail was designed and the interior walls were covered with “nuwood.”   A new work bench was built in the kitchen and the furnace room was scrubbed and made part of the kitchen.  Total repairs cost $2,266.64.  On June 13 a re-dedication service was held and the church was dedicated as debt-free.

1944-48:    A Young Adults Bible Study Class was formed.  Cards and boxes were packed for the young men of the church who were in the service.  At Christmas time in 1946, gifts were donated for residents of the Delaware County Care Facility. On April 13, 1947 the Delhi Methodist Church celebrated 100 years of Methodism in Delhi.

1953:                   An electric Hammond organ was presented to the church in memory of Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Stone.  Two new pulpit chairs were also purchased with money from the U.M.W. Memorial Fund.

1955:       An addition was built to the west end of the church at the cost of $14,029.61.  The basement made a nice new kitchen, water was brought into the church and two bathrooms and another furnace were added.  This remodeling was dedicated on October 13, 1955.

       During the 1950’s the Delhi Methodist Church was involved in conducting a School Released Time pilot project.  It was a one hour period of religious instruction during school hours for grades one through 8.  Teachers at school reported they felt discipline was made better. 

1956:       A Fall Festival was held with a potluck supper and fellowship.  Each family brought a special offering.  These “Festivals” continued for the next 25 years and the offerings helped meet expenses.

1957:       The remaining cost of the addition was paid and building dedicated.

1966:       The church was painted, re-shingled and some electrical repairs made.

1967:       A Blue Grass Band was organized.  This type of music was new to us and enjoyed by all.

1970’s:    A lay Witness Mission was held with 30-35 lay people from all over Iowa coming for a weekend of meetings. During the “Key ‘72” thrust 22 neighborhood study groups were organized and the modern language “Good News” Bibles were distributed to local people.

1979:       A church library was established and was later called the Winona Sutton Memorial Library.   Mission Saturation Week was held in 1979.  Missionaries from around the world told of their experiences.

1981:       A Lake Ministry was sponsored with Saturday evening services held during July and August at various resort areas along the Maquoketa River near Delhi. These services continued for several years.

1983-84: Remodeling of the church began in October of 1983 and was completed in March of 1984.  Both the interior and exterior needed major repairs;  the sanctuary was turned around to face the east;  the building was made handicap accessible from the outside, an office, storage area and three Sunday School rooms were added.

1990’s:    An elevator was added to the building so that the basement became handicap accessible, too.