The Methodist Episcopal Church, South
1896 Pioneer
Members
Standing
l-r: Lewis A. Depew, Madge Bell, A. P. Edge, Arthur Jennings, Gertrude Beville,
Eddie Edge, Nellie Blizzard, Arthur
Cole, Sadie Saunders, William Spencer, Frank Depew, Myrtle Jennings, W. H.
Thomas.
Center
in black: Mrs. Grace Heartstone organist
Seated l-r: Helen Beville, Harry and
Clarence Summerlin.
Although
the Methodists held Sunday school classes as early as 1888, they did not
organize until 1892. The first Sunday School and first sermon were held in
a schoolhouse located on the southeast corner of what is now North Second Street
and Avenue D, in what was the Edgartown. That first sermon was delivered
by Captain H. B. Shaw of Ormond. Captain Shaw was a government lighthouse
inspector. He liked to preach and did so at any opportunity, as he traveled up
and down the coast. The first regular Sunday School was organized by
Mrs. Jennings in 1889. She held these at a one room hut on Orange Avenue
between Second and Fourth Street.
The first
minister for the community appointed by the Annual Conference was Rev. M. P. Dukes, in
1892. The new congregation's first baptism was that of a baby girl
named Myrtle Jennings in 1893. Their first marriage was the union of Mr. Harry
Harvey and Miss Clara Bronson on November 1, 1894. The assemblage began
planning a church building. For a consideration of $1.00, A.C. Dittmar and
his wife Cora H., land was conveyed to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
(Recorded in Brevard Co., Florida) Construction began at what would be
described today as the 600 block of Fourth Street. This ambitious
project had no hired contractor, those tasks were performed by Mrs. Jennie
Jennings and Mrs. Lizzie McCarty. With an eye to the view and a desire to catch
the ocean breeze, the church was built west of the railroad tracks and facing
east. This Methodist Church, in the sand dunes of Edgartown, was
completed in 1895. The first minister of this church was Rev. C. W.
White. He served two years and was then replaced by Rev. W. B.
Tresca.
After a
few years, the need for a bigger church was identified. The pioneer
congregation, as well as recent arrivals, began construction and a second church
was built on North Second
Street, just south of Moore's Creek. This new more spacious church
was completed in 1905. The sanctuary had beautiful stained glass windows,
kneeling benches in the pews, the ambiance of this new church pleased the
congregation. It served until 1926, when the Hendry Memorial Methodist
Episcopal Church, South was constructed on the corner of Orange Avenue and
Seventh Street.
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