New Local History Display

The Crawfordsville District Public Library invites the public to enjoy our newest Local History display on the second floor in celebration of the First Methodist Church’s 200th anniversary. The church will hold its official celebration on September 14, 2025.

Travel back two hundred years, when a Methodist elder named James Armstrong heard there were a few Methodists in Crawfordsville and decided to arrange a meeting with them. Originally, he planned to hold the meeting at another local church, but was not allowed. Then he tried to hold the meeting in the schoolhouse, but was refused again. Frustrated by his reception, he climbed up on a large tree stump and preached for three hours. According to news reports at the time, there were numerous converts that day, and that number grew as Armstrong followed citizens back to their cabins to continue preaching. Soon after, local Methodists decided to organize a class, or initial group, with plans to start and build an official Methodist church. This was the first step taken toward bringing a Methodist church to Crawfordsville. The organizing class was comprised of five women, several of whom may sound familiar: Maria Akin Elston; her mother, Mrs. Sylvia Ann Winters; Mrs. Mary Thomson Stitt; Mrs. Mary Nicholson; and Mrs. Killian.

This original church was known as the First Methodist Episcopal Church. By 1835, the church had erected its first building – a 40’ x 40’ one-room frame building – and welcomed its first resident minister, Rev. J. Miller. The original one-room building was replaced in 1857 and dedicated in 1862. The gap in time between building completion and dedication is because the Methodist Church only allows dedications once the building is debt-free. Additional construction followed, and the present church building, located at the corner of Wabash Avenue and Water Street, was dedicated in 1886. Fast forward to 1939, and the First Methodist Episcopal Church officially became the First Methodist Church after three Methodist-based movements merged.

We hope you will visit us to learn more about the extensive history of Crawfordsville’s First Methodist Church through pictures, newspaper articles, and historical artifacts. But, don’t wait too long! This display will only be up for a limited time through the month of June.