In 1847, the Methodists became the first religious group to construct a church in the Keokuk County town of Richland. A new brick building was constructed at a cost of $1,500 in 1880, before being replaced by a wooden frame building on the same site in 1898. A fire engulfed the building in October 27, 1925, causing services to temporarily be held in the town’s Opera House.
The cornerstone of the current building was laid on June 3, 1926; it was dedicated on October 3.
While the rural Wapello County hamlet of Christiansburg saw its restaurant, gas station and general store shutter after Highway 34 was rerouted in the early 1960s. While only a few homes remain, the unincorporated village has been home to a United Methodist Church since 1850.
In that year, three families gathered at James M. Chisman’s home for worship services led by Reverend W.A. Nye. Services were later moved to the the log school before the present building was constructed in 1886. In 1928, the building was raised to allow the addition of a full basement. Electric lights were added in 1946, while 1962 brought running water to the church facility.
Residents in the Taylor County town of Lenox celebrated the opening of their new post office building the week of May 27, 1963. Construction started the previous september by owner and contractor Clarence Hoesing of Hartington, Nebraska. The 50×74 feet structure featured a brick exterior, private parking lot, and drive-through mail drop box. The article in the Lenox Time Table highlighted aspects of the interior, including vinyl flooring, modern baseboard heating, air conditioning, and green walls.
Reverend W.C. Williams was appointed to come to the Union County town of Afton in 1854, with the first class held in January 1855 in a private home. As membership grew, services relocated to the school house, then the old courthouse building, before the first permanent building was erected in the present-day church parking lot. In 1903, the present church facility was constructed.
Membership grew in the 1960s, when the local Presbyterian Evangelical Church disbanded. The church shares a pastor with congregations in nearby Lorimor and Arispe.
