Reflections about the Alachua Methodist Church

I was invited to the celebration of the Alachua Methodist Church on Sunday, June 4, 2023, for “Celebration Day” to officially unveil their historical marker. I felt so welcomed, meeting new folks and renewing conversations with those I knew.

Ted Wilson asked me to attend the celebration and write about it, which is why I was there. Sadly, Ted passed away July 29. He was a wonderful asset to the community, doing so much with a loving heart for everyone, but especially for the youth of our community. I wish I had finished this piece sooner, but life sometimes gets in the way. I missed sharing with him, but I know Ted is watching over his family, the church, and the community. Plus, I wanted to share the love that the church folk have for each other and outside the church.

The First Methodist Church of Alachua is now officially The Alachua Methodist Church. It is the oldest Methodist Church in Florida. As many may be aware, there have been issues within the Methodist Convention—but what denomination hasn’t had differences of opinion? The celebration was to officially join the Global Methodist Church. While I’m not going into the differences, the change in the Alachua Methodist Church is God stirring in fresh ways.

The congregation is putting down anchors and weathering the storm, or you could say that they are making a new and fresh start. The members seem to be excited about this “new beginning.”. They have a new vision for the church, but let’s see where they came from.

The Alachua Methodist Church, formally the First Methodist Church, was originally located in a home owned by the Dells near Newnansville, and it is said it was originally founded in 1822 in what was described as a wilderness near a fort. Newnansville at one time was the county seat, which is where the first Courthouse was located. I have hunted high and low for a picture of the old courthouse, but as far as I know, one doesn’t exist unless it is hiding among old albums on someone’s shelf.

Today, it isn’t common for churches to have circuit riders as they did in the past. A circuit rider would go from one church to another, sometimes traveling 200-to-500-mile routes on horseback. Sometimes they preached every day. It wasn’t unusual for a rider to only preach at each church once or twice a month. It also was common for them to preach every day as they traveled around the countryside.

Now I figure there are some of you out there that would like that option of only going to church once or twice a month. But I have it on good authority that they met most of the day. Folks sometimes fuss if we are running late—past noon—what would they think about it now. It was a hard life for the preacher, and exhaustion, illness, animal attacks and folks that just weren’t that friendly were constant threats.

Once the route of the railroad was decided and moved to Alachua, Newnansville dwindled from the once bustling town. The reason given for the move was because Newnansville was uphill, and the trains couldn’t make it up the hills. I love Alachua, but I wonder what would have developed if the county seat was still up the hill in Newnansville. That would be another story.

The church moved to Alachua in 1897, and a wooden building housed the church. That building burned down in 1910 by the records I was able to find. The Dell family owned most of the land in Alachua and gave the church the property it has been on since 1897. The current building was built in 1913.

I spoke with some of the current members and asked how long they have been a member of the church. Mrs. Colson was a member since 1933 (90 years), Mrs. Shaw since 1949 (74 years) and Mrs. Ruth Fugate O’Conner since 1956 (67 years). That is a long time to be committed to the same church. I think that was more common in the past. If you grew up somewhere, or you got married and started going to a specific church, you continued to attend the rest of your life.

On Dec. 16, 2000, the church was on the “Tour of Churches and Homes” hosted by the Alachua Historical Society and the Alachua Woman’s Club. We had reached out to those that could share a wealth of information about the history of Alachua.

I so enjoyed listening to several of the members share the history of the church and how much the church has devoted its time, love, and physical labor to the Alachua community. There is so much rich history in Alachua and the surrounding area, we could write an article each week.

If you don’t have a church home or you are currently looking for a church home, I highly recommend visiting the church and see if you are a fit for them or them for you. They have wonderful folks who attend and a welcoming pastor. If I was looking for a new church, I would be strongly tempted to join them

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