Jewett Methodist Church

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm going off the official marker for Jewett Methodist Church, right here in Leon County. Now settle in, because this one goes back a good long ways. The town of Jewett was laid out in December of 1871, right along the International and Great Northern Railroad line.

Towns have a way of springing up wherever the rails go, and Jewett was no different. Before the ink on that town plat was barely dry, the Methodists were already gathering. By 1872, folks in the area were meeting for worship services in the home of William R. and Patience Horn Ellis.

No grand sanctuary, no steeple reaching toward the sky. Just a home, and people willing to fill it. Now, a congregation needs organizing, and that's where a circuit-riding minister named James J.

Davis comes into the picture. With his assistance, the Jewett Methodist Church congregation was formally organized. A circuit rider didn't stay put, you understand.

He moved. He covered ground. But what he helped plant here, well, it stayed.

In 1873, church trustees purchased land at the corner of Marion and West 2nd Street. Church members built a frame sanctuary there, facing out onto Marion Street, and that building served the congregation all the way until 1899. Nearly three decades of Sunday mornings in that one frame building.

Then in 1899, the church purchased three lots on 2nd Street, right across from that original sanctuary. And in 1900, up went something new: a white frame structure with a high steeple. By that same year, 1900, the congregation had grown to 191 members.

They had Sunday School running, women's missionary societies active, worship services going strong. The work kept growing. By the 1950s, a new church complex was built.

And the congregation kept on, cycling through various Methodist circuits over the years, until 1989, when the Jewett Church finally became a full station. From a railroad town platted in 1871, from a living room belonging to William and Patience Ellis, to a high-steepled church on 2nd Street, to a full station in its own right. Some things, once planted, just refuse to stop growing.

What the marker says

The town of Jewett was laid out in December 1871 on the International & Great Northern Railroad line. By 1872 Methodists in the area were meeting for worship services in the home of William R. and Patience Horn Ellis. With the assistance of circuit-riding minister James J. Davis, the Jewett Methodist Church congregation was organized. In 1873 church trustees purchased land at the corner of Marion and West 2nd Street. Church members soon built a frame sanctuary which faced onto Marion Street. It continued to serve the congregation until 1899, when the church purchased three lots on 2nd street across from the original sanctuary. A new white frame structure with a high steeple was built in 1900. The congregation grew steadily, and by 1900 included 191 members. In addition to worship services, programs included a Sunday School and women's missionary societies. A new church complex was built in the 1950s. The Jewett Church was a member of various Methodist circuits over the years until it became a full station in 1989. It continues to uphold the traditions of its founders, offering a variety of worship, educational, and outreach programs.