Lebanon United Methodist Church

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just gonna do it justice. October 19, 1872. Two men, C.A.

Spivey and W.E. Anderson, put pen to paper and deeded four acres of land to a group of trustees acting on behalf of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Nine names on that deed: James W.

Scott, M.J. Britton, J.B.C. Scott, J.P.

Grace, H.B. Smith, George Williams, E.R. Williams, J.H.

Gamblin, and J.F. Anderson. Nine men holding four acres and the weight of a congregation's future.

The first pastor was the Reverend Floyd T. Wiginton. But here's where tradition steps in and leans close to the fire.

The pastor in 1873, a man named the Reverend Isaac Pierce Lowery, is the one who suggested the name. Lebanon. Just like that, the congregation had something to call itself.

Now, things were going along fine until the first church building burned. Sometime in the early 1880s, it was gone. But a congregation that had already put nine names on a deed and picked a name out of the air wasn't going to let fire be the end of the story.

The members moved to a new site, the very site where Lebanon United Methodist Church stands today. And that wasn't all the ground gave. An early school on church property served the surrounding area, kept on serving it, all the way until the mid-twentieth century.

Four acres, a deed, a fire, a school, and a name someone suggested in 1873. Lebanon United Methodist Church has been holding that pioneer heritage together ever since, and it's still at it.

What the marker says

On Oct. 19, 1872, C.A. Spivey and W.E. Anderson deeded four acres of land to James W. Scott, M.J. Britton, J.B.C. Scott, J.P. Grace, H.B. Smith, George Williams, E.R. Williams, J.H. Gamblin and J.F. Anderson, trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Rev. Floyd T. Wiginton was the first pastor. Tradition holds the Rev. Isaac Pierce Lowery, the pastor in 1873, suggested the congregational name of Lebanon. The first church building burned in the early 1880s, and members moved to this site. An early school on church property served the area until the mid-20th century. Today, Lebanon United Methodist Church provides an important link to the community's pioneer heritage. (2006)