About Emmanuel United Methodist Church

In 1879, one acre tract of land was purchased for $1 by the trustees for the Church of United Brethren in Christ.  A church site was now provided, but a building was needed for a meeting place for the congregation.  The trustees then purchased a church building in Middletown.  This building was dismantled, then loaded onto a canal boat and brought on the Union Canal from Middletown to Harpers, where it was transferred to wagons and hauled to its present site for construction.  The building was one large room 40 feet by 34 feet of simple design.  It had two entrances, the entrance on the right side was for men, and the entrance on the left side was for the women.  In those early days, it was rather unusual to see men sitting with their wives, or to see men sitting on the ladies’ side or women sitting on the mens’ side.   In the front of the church on each side of the pulpit, were two pews at right angles to the rest of the church pews.  This was the ‘Amen’ corner, so named because the older men would occupy these pews and in assent to the minister’s statements, they would say “Amen”. 

The most impressive part of the church is the arch which has the inscription, “In God We Trust”, and the painting within the arch of “The Good Shepherd”, which was painted in 1938 by Mr. Keller.

The ceiling that is now in the church is not the original, but it is of rather unique construction.  It is a panel ceiling, in a natural oak finish, and was built about the year 1900.

Heat was furnished by two pot-bellied stoves, one on each side of the church.  Stove pipes were extended through the ceiling and fit into the chimney in the attic.  These pipes were dangerous fire hazards in the severe cold weather.  The fuel used in heating was kindling wood and coal, and in trying to force the heat to all parts of the church, the pipes would over-heat and on several occasions, nearly caused disaster.  

Lighting for our evening services was by kerosene lamps.  The lamps required, adding kerosene, trimming the wicks, and cleaning the lamp shades, and even with proper attention and care the lighting by today’s standards was poor.  When the wicks were dirty and the shades were smoked, the light was very poor.  For outside lighting, there was a large kerosene lantern hung on a bracket, which was attached to a large locust tree located about 30 feet in front of the church.

The church yard had a natural boundary on the west, of a line of beautiful oak trees, of which most have survived to this day.  These trees served as protection to severe storms, and even then, you could feel the building quiver and hear supports creak during the fury of such storms.