Forward Through the Ages

Transcription

1 Methodist Churches in Santa Rosa Welcome to this inaugural edition of Forward Through, a series providing some of the history of. A good place to start is with the three churches in the masthead. Two are the ancestors of our present church. The first Methodist Episcopal Church building was erected in 1861 at the corner of Third and D Streets. The property was acquired in October, 1858, from town fathers Berthold "Barney" Hoen and Feodor "Ted" Hahman, who donated lots to the Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians to establish churches.. Four lots were received, for $20 apiece. Each lot had 40 feet of frontage, two facing Second Street and two facing Third Street. In December 1858, two more lots facing Third Street were purchased. In 1861, the two lots on Second Street were sold, and the money was used to help build the church at the corner of 3rd and D Streets. In the 1890 s, the church built in 1861 was showing its age. In 1874 the church had been enlarged and improved at a cost of $5,000. In 1886 the parsonage had been built, and the church had once again been improved. There had been a great harvest of souls at that location, and the greatest Methodists in the conference had preached from the pulpit of the little church. However, it was evident that the church had not been built to accommodate a twentieth century congregation. During the mid to late 1890 s, funds were collected and plans were made to build a new church. In 1900 construction started on a new church on Fourth Street. It was completed in 1901 for a cost of $13, At the time of its dedication a debt of $4,000 remained. The dedication ceremony, held on April 14, 1901, must have been very rousing to those in attendance, because the amount collected at that service was sufficient to pay off the remaining debt. The parsonage was constructed adjacent to the church, but rather than facing Fourth Street, it faced Fifth Street. This photograph after the 1906 earthquake shows what appears to be the rubble of the 1861 church in the foreground. The Methodist Episcopal (South) Church at Fifth and Orchard, where Pederson s Furniture store is now, survived, as did the Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal church just outside this photo to the right. By the 1940 s the Fourth Street Methodist Church had grown considerably since the church had been first occupied in Pressure grew to correct the problems of overcrowding, and it became apparent that more remodeling would not be the cure. In 1947 the pastor, Cecil Wilkins, started a building fund for a new and larger church. While the need was obvious, many of the older members, who made up the financial backbone of the church, were resistant to the strain of disruption and debt that a church in a new location who pose. The new church project was given great impetus with the donation of several residential lots at the corner of California Street and Montgomery Drive by Mrs. Mead Clark, a long-time faithful member of the church. In 1950, the church property on Fourth Street was sold to Santa Rosa Savings and Loan, and construction was begun on the new church. The last service at the Fourth Street church was held on June 10, The next two weeks services were held in the new Social Hall (now the McMullin room and Lehman Chapel) as the sanctuary wasn t quite ready. The first worship services held in the new sanctuary were on June 24, 1951, with pastor Bert Weeks. The story of the other Methodist churches and the Methodist College are stories for another day.

2 Early Christianity in Sonoma County In the book Wild Oats in Eden Harvey Hansen and Jeanne Miller present a description of the beginning of Christianity in Sonoma County. In 1812, long before the Mexicans colonized north of San Francisco, Ivan A. Kuskoff, an adventurer with only one leg who was later to become a Russian hero, chose a site for a Russian colony on a remote and rocky coastal bluff thirteen miles north of the Slavianka, or Russian River as we would later call it. Kuskoff the diplomat, who had been busy making friends with the Indians on previous trips, leased the land, site of the Pomo village known as Mad Shui Nui, for three blankets, three pairs of breeches, three horses, two axes, and some beads. The fort was built with nine buildings inside the walls and fifty building outside. One of the most prominent buildings in the fort, and certainly one of the most prominent in the life and culture of the Russian inhabitants, was the Russian Orthodox Chapel. The fort and settlement was christened simply Ross, an archaic name for Russia. The Mexican government's first attempt at establishing a frontier north of San Francisco was made in 1823 when the Spanish Franciscan Padre, Jose Altimira, came from San Francisco full of missionary zeal to convert the "heathen Indians". Bypassing church authority, Altimira received permission for a survey from Governor Arguello and with a military escort and a group of Christian Indians as workers explored the area from Petaluma to Suisun for a mission site. The Padre was enthusiastic about the Sonoma Valley, and thus it was there that the site was selected for the only mission to be established by the Mexican government, the mission that was fated to be the last one in a series stretching north from Mexico. On July 4, 1823, a redwood cross was erected at the site, a two-hour service was held, the soldiers fired a volley, and the new mission was christened Nuevo San Francisco. The following year, on the occasion of the dedication, the mission was renamed San Francisco Solano de Sonoma. The religious life of the mission lasted only ten years. Anti-mission sentiment among the soldiers and settlers culminated in the secularization of the mission by decree of the Mexican government, and in 1834 it was turned over to the civil authority headed by General Mariano Vallejo. In 1850, only fifteen years after the last mission padre left the Sonoma mission and returned to the San Rafael mission, Isaac Owen, Methodist missionary, packed his saddlebags and went to Sonoma to found the first Protestant Church in the north bay area. din ar Norm H A sketch made on a visit to Fort Ross in California Historical Society

3 The Start of True to our tradition of frontier religion, Methodism soon followed Russian Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The exact origins of Methodism in Sonoma County are unclear. There seems to have been several circuit riders not officially related to any Annual Conference who were in the area from 1849 on. The book Story Of My Life, by Methodist Bishop William Taylor, 1895, found by Jo Bodle in Indiana, gives his description about the arrival of the first Methodist ministers in the area. As you read it, there are three people in particular who have close ties to our church: Isaac Owen, who later built the first Methodist church in Sonoma County in the town of Sonoma; Asa White, or Blue Tent White as he was know by reputation in San Francisco, who was our pastor from 1857 to 1859; and James Corwin who was our pastor in 1859 to In 1850, only fifteen years after the last mission padre left the Sonoma mission and returned to the San Rafael mission, Isaac Owen packed his saddlebags and went to Sonoma to found the first Protestant Church in the north bay area. Gaye LeBaron s book Santa Rosa A Nineteenth Century Town tells about the start of organized religion in Santa Rosa. The Lebanon Baptist Church was the first organized congregation in the Santa Rosa area, with the circuit riding Reverend Steven Riley holding meetings in Martin Hudson's cabin in the Los Guilucos valley, six miles east of what was to become the town center. When the membership outgrew the Hudson home, the congregation moved outdoors under the branches of a large live oak tree. That proving to be "too open to both the winter storms and the summer cows", the entire community joined in with their Baptist neighbors and erected the first church building, locating it in the short-lived town of Franklin. The next church to organize in the Santa Rosa area was the Methodist church. The Southern Methodists arrived first. The Reverend Solomon Smith of the Methodist Episcopal Church (South) visited the Santa Rosa valley in 1851 or At first he was not connected to any conference, but none the less was an active preacher. In 1853 he was officially appointed to the Bodega Bay Circuit. Santa Rosa was a preaching point on that circuit, and the first services were held in the Baptist church in Franklin before the town of Santa Rosa was founded. The Methodist Episcopal (South) continued to meet in Baptist churches until 1868, when a church was erected at the corner of Fifth and B Streets. It appears that the Methodist Episcopal Church began as part of the old Russian River Circuit. Santa Rosa was laid out in 1853, and our first records indicate that the Reverend A. L. S. Bateman was appointed to that circuit in Bateman conducted services first in the courthouse, and then in the home of appropriately named Judge Churchman. The first Methodist Episcopal Church building was erected in 1861, at the Bowers 1867 map - Courtesy, Bancroft Library Judge Churchman s property, where some of the first worship services were held. Site of the first Methodist Church in Santa Rosa, located at Third and D Streets

4 The Other Our ancestor churches here in Santa Rosa consisted of more than just the mainstream Methodist Episcopal churches talked about earlier. Tracing the roots of Methodism in Santa Rosa becomes confusing due to the church being split into various branches, each quite active in the community. There was the Methodist Episcopal Church that was the main foundational organization, the M. E. (South) Church, which split from the main body over the question of slavery, and later the German M. E. Church, which was aligned with the main body, but was a German language church. In addition to the various church activities in the community, the M.E. (South) Church established a major college here in Santa Rosa that took on a life of it s own. The Southern Methodists arrived first, though they were not the first Methodists to build a church.. The Reverend Solomon Smith of the M. E. (South) visited the Santa Rosa valley in 1851 or In 1853 he was officially appointed to the Bodega Bay Circuit, which included Santa Rosa as a preaching point. The M. E. (South) congregation met in Baptist churches until 1868, when a church was erected at the corner of Fifth and B Streets, seven years after the M.E. church was built at Fifth and D. In 1884 the M.E. (South) moved their original church to a new site at the corner of Fifth and Orchard. In 1894 the old church, having outgrown the facilities which were built before the arrival of Pacific Methodist College with its influx of professors, staff and students, was moved to the rear of the lot, rotated 90 degrees, and a new sanctuary, steeple and entrance was added. In the photo, the old church can be seen at the back, with two narrow windows and a doorway. The church remained there until after its merger. In 1924 a plan for merging the M.E. can M.E. (South) churches was voted on at the annual conferences. The California Conference voted unanimously in favor of the unification plan. The Pacific Conference had a majority in favor, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required. With the failure of the 1924 plan, the two Santa Rosa churches decided to ignore the vote and merged on their own. The numbers of Southern Methodists grew sharply in 1871 when the Pacific Methodist College relocated to Santa Rosa from Vacaville. After President Lincoln's assassination, the college in Vacaville had been burned to the ground by Yankees angered at the college's southern parentage. Looking for a kinder reception, the college found it in Santa Rosa, a town with Confederate leanings. Pacific Methodist College from Gaye LeBaron s column in the Press Democrat The new school was built and the street leading up to it was named College Avenue. At the turn of the 20th century, Pacific Methodist College reported that it had graduated over 180 students since coming to Santa Rosa, and had "partially educated" over 4,000 more. Pacific Methodist College endured until after 1900, surviving financial setbacks, the arrest of one of its professors for forgery, and finally a move to the outskirts of town. In 1882 the Reverend August Lemkau established the local German Methodist Episcopal Church, which was Wesleyan Methodist. The church building was erected in 1888 at the corner of Cherry and Orchard Streets. By 1942 World War I and onset of World War II had changed the nature of German culture in America, and a German language church was no longer desired. The building continued to serve as a church for many years after the Methodists sold it, and still exists.

5 Early Methodist Women Methodist women have always been a powerful and integral part of the church body. They have always been interested in spiritual growth and fellowship for women, missions, and the welfare of women and children. At first was an unorganized, loosely knit group of women that assisted the pastors. The records we have of organized women's groups begin November 22, Called the Ladies Aid Society, their first recorded meeting was in the Third Street church, and their first task was to develop and approve a constitution, shown at the right. Some things never change! Stuck in the book of minutes for the 1880 s was a handwritten note: Gone to the Ladies Aid. Lock the back door and shut the lattice. In May of 1883, a chapter of the Women s Christian Temperance Union was formed, led primarily by women of our church. They believed that God provides water as a natural drink for man and beast, and that alcohol is a poison. Their doxology was: Praise God, from who all blessings flow, Praise God, who heals the drunkard s woe, Praise God, who leads the temperance host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We have all enjoyed the annual Snowflake Bazaar, but few realize how old this tradition is. In the minutes for November 21, 1883, there is this entry: It was decided to have a Fair just before the Holidays, & work for the same was commenced. In 1887 there were about a dozen women attending meetings in homes or the church parlor. They did hand work for missions or had a study. Money was raised from mite boxes. dues, box socials, teas, rummage sales and bazaars. They canned pears and plums for Gum Moon home in San Francisco and for the Deaconess's home. They also sent rag rugs and comforters to Gum Moon. They bought furniture and other things for the parsonage and took care of needy families in Santa Rosa. By 1914 there were 49 members. That year they spent $52 on missions. Those supported were Indians in Covelo, Jessie Lee Home in Alaska, Italian Friends Center and Gum Moon in San Francisco, Ellen Stark Home and Fred Finch Home. They sent $5 to Beulah Home in Oakland for fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Study topics mentioned were Moslem Women, India, drug and narcotic problems and labor problems. Due to the flu epidemic, there were no meetings from September 1918 to February din & oris Guyon D ar Norm H

6 Montgomery s Magnolia Tree Steve Brown was a member of the construction crew working on Larry and Wilma Thompson s home following a fire in He asked about the church the Thompsons attended, as he was impressed by the number of church members who had stopped by to support the Thompsons and ask how they could help. When told that it was First United Methodist Church, He told me his mother had gone there, and in about 1962 she had brought a magnolia sapling from Arlington, Virginia, where she was raised and had planted it in the lawn on the side yard next to California Street. That sapling is now a magnificent tree, gracing us every year with it s beautiful blossoms and fragrance. His mother s name was Billy Brown and their family lived on Reagan Way. He had fond memories of playing with the Daulton boys, sons of our pastor from 1961 to 1970, and camping out under the large fir tree that is behind the altar window. His mother died in 1995, but the magnolia tree lives on in all its splendor, a wonderful testament to her gift for the church.