Church Hill United Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Rusk County, there's a congregation with a story that starts all the way back in 1839. That's the year the Church Hill United Methodist Church was organized, with the Reverend Claugh Waterfield standing up as its first pastor.

Now, every congregation needs a first member, and this one's first member was fourteen-year-old William F. Richards. Fourteen years old.

The whole enterprise resting, at least symbolically, on the shoulders of a kid. That's not nothing. That's a beginning worth remembering.

Then comes 1843, and the Reverend William Craig takes on something that would make most men sit down and reconsider. He begins the three-hundred-mile Church Hill circuit. Three hundred miles, in 1843, on whatever roads there were, which is a generous way to describe them.

The man covered ground. Fast-forward to 1852, and three men, John Robertson, John Strong, and Samuel Wasson, set aside a twenty-seven-acre plot for a church and a schoolhouse. Twenty-seven acres, carved out of purpose and intention.

That schoolhouse eventually became known as the Academy, and here's the part that earns a quiet nod: the Academy still serves as the educational building. Some things last. The main structure itself went up in 1879, and when it did, there were about twelve dirt-floored houses built nearby, put up for families who came in during camp meetings.

Twelve houses, dirt floors, families gathered. That's a community takin' shape around something it believed in, from a fourteen-year-old boy in 1839 all the way to a congregation still standing. Church Hill endures.

What the marker says

In 1839 this congregation was organized with the Rev. Claugh Waterfield as pastor. The first member was 14-year-old William F. Richards. The Rev. William Craig began the 300-mile church hill circuit in 1843. John Robertson, John Strong, and Samuel Wasson set aside this 27-acre plot for a church and schoolhouse in 1852. When the structure was erected in 1879, there were about 12 dirt-floored houses built nearby for families during camp meetings. The "Academy," which served as the schoolhouse, is used as the educational building.