Keeping the faith for 170 years

Published: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 3:39 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 3:39 p.m.

A longtime landmark of the community of Cotton Plant, St. John's United Methodist Church will celebrate its Spring Festival on Saturday while also recognizing the church's organizational roots, which date back to 1844. The celebration will be held on the grounds and in the fellowship hall, and the sanctuary will be open for viewing.

The building's historic charm is reminiscent of the days when people came to church on horseback, in ox carts and by foot. Some traveled long distances on Saturday and camped out on the grounds overnight.

In those days, the women wore long dresses and wide-brimmed bonnets, and used paper fans to cool themselves in the stifling summer heat. The church's male and female members were required to enter through different doors and had to sit on opposite sides of the sanctuary. There also was a segregated area for slaves. Male leaders set the rules and scoffed at people who ignored them, such as the ignorant gentleman who escorted his female companion through the wrong door one Sunday.

Cotton Plant, settled in 1842, was a farming and cotton growing area. Star-Banner columnist David Cook has noted that Cotton Plant, located just west of Martel, was a thriving town in the late 1880s, with a population of about 1,000 at that time.

Officially founded in 1852 by Joseph P. Barco, St. John's congregation first met in a log cabin on a lot 1/4 mile northeast of the current location. The next building, erected on the current site, served as a schoolhouse and a church. In time, it began to lean to one side and, in 1892, was replaced by the present two-story frame building. The upper floor was often used for meetings by a local Masonic lodge, which helped pay for the church's construction.

Current members, particularly those who had a hand in the renovations, feel the church is more than just a building.

I think you become a part of it, said Leonard Pete Michael. I'd hate like everything for that church to fail. We can't let that happen.

A retired owner of a steel construction firm in South Florida, Michael, who moved here in 1988, became involved in repairs to the building's termite-infested foundation. Using five hydraulic jacks, steel reinforcing rods and concrete, he led a group of hardy men from the congregation to form a more lasting foundation.

I think another three or four months and it would have collapsed, Michael said. We'd have lost it if we hadn't shored it up and put in a new footing. The wall could have come right on through all the way to the ground. We caught it just in time. I could say it was my idea to fix it, but I don't think so. I think the Lord put me there. And there were a lot of people involved in it.

Visit link:
Keeping the faith for 170 years