Tennessee Methodist Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Tennessee Methodist Church in Shelby County. Now settle in, because this story starts way back in 1857, and it's got more chapters than most folks expect from a little country church. Back then, somebody looked around at all these settlers who'd made their way down from Tennessee, and thought: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, they all need a place to worship.

So a Union church was organized, open to all three. They called it Mount Carmel. One room, frame construction, log seats.

Simple. Honest. And on weekdays, it did double duty as a community schoolhouse, because out here on the frontier, you used what you had.

By 1871, the name had changed to Tennessee Church, and you can guess who the congregation wanted to remember. Then about 1877, they went bigger. A two-story building went up to replace that little one-room structure.

First floor for worship services. Second story for the local Woodmen of the World Lodge to hold their meetings. And the school, well, the school kept right on meeting there too.

That building was doing the work of half a town. Now, here is where it gets interesting. For decades, three different congregations had been sharing one roof, Sunday after Sunday, year after year.

But all things eventually come to a reckoning. In 1913, the three congregations finally divided. The Presbyterians retained the Union Church.

The Methodists and the Baptists each went off and built new facilities of their own. The Methodist congregation put up a white frame structure, and that building served its members faithfully until 1952, when a new brick building replaced it. More than a century of Shelby County history, and Tennessee Methodist Church is still out there, still serving the community.

Some roots just go too deep to pull up.

What the marker says

This congregation traces its history to 1857, when a Union church was organized to serve Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian settlers in this area, many of whom migrated here from Tennessee. Named Mount Carmel, the church building was a one-room frame structure with log seats. It also served as a community schoolhouse. By 1871 the name was changed to Tennessee Church. About 1877 a two-story building was erected to replace the small church structure. The first floor was used for worship services, while the second story was used as a meeting hall by the local Woodmen of the World Lodge. The community school also continued to meet in the Union building. The three congregations finally divided in 1913, with the Presbyterians retaining the Union Church and the Methodist and Baptist congregations building new facilities. The Methodist Church building was a white frame structure, which continued to serve the members until it was replaced by a new brick building in 1952. A part of Shelby County history for well over a century, Tennessee Methodist Church continues to serve the community with a variety of programs.