Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1903-12-22
The First Sermon Ever Delivered In Ottun1wu, 1915
From 1t Dates the History
of the First Methodist
Episcopal Church

1870 10 1871 - T. e. ,Corkhill pastor.
1S72-E. H. Winans, pastor.
1872 to 1873 - R. B. Allender, pre-
siding elder.
1s7S-4-5-J. T. Simmons, pastor.
1874 to 1875 - ]. H. Power presid-
ing elder.
1875 to 1879 90 Banner Mark, presid-
ing cider.
.s7t to 1878 - j. w. Mcdonald pas
tor
1sso-1-2-s-w. G. Wilson presiding
elder
iS79-S0-s1 - G. b. Clark, pastor.
1oS2-3.4--W. H. Pillsbury pastor.
18S4.5-6-7--I. P. Teter. presiding eli
der.
1885 to 1886 j. B. Blakeny, pastor.
1888 to 1889 - j. w. Mcdonald, pre-
siding elder.
1SS7-S-9 - Dennis Murphy, pastor.
The remainder are still in the Iowa
conference. In 1859 the station was di-
vided and the Main street society
formed, going out of the mother church
with seventy members, leaving the
First church with 219 members.
Establish a Sunday School.
In the fall of 1850 the First Congre-
gational church was finished. The
congregation kindly invited the Meth
odist congregation to use their church
every fourth Sabbath, their pastor,
Mr.. Spaulding having an appointment
on tnat Sababth on the prairie north
of town. While worshipping in the
Congregational church. a revival was
held in 1851 under the leadership Of
d. NJ Smith of Burlington and William
Corkhill of Mt. Pleasant A large
number were added to the church in.
Guiding ]. d. Devin, James Hammond
and Mr.. and Mrs. R. H. Warden and
Mr.. and Mrs. Charles Lawrence. John
Hayden travelled the circuit at that
time. Shortly after the revival in 1851
the congregation returned to the old
court house for the purpose of estab-
fishing a Sunday school (there being
only one In a town numbering thirty
two scholars) which was opened in a
short time with an enrolment of nine
ty scholars. On the completion Of the
new court house, Judge Osborn gave
the church an invitation to occupy
that on Sabbath, which invitation was
cheerfully accepted.
Church IsTIncorporated.
Z In 1850 the matter of building
church was decided upon and inc Au-
gust OF that year, a lot adjoining the
court house was purchased for, SS5.
Early in 1851 the original subscription
was commenced. H. P. Graves headed
the list with $50. The whole amount
subscribed was $S7245. Soon after
taking this subscription, the California
fever broke out and a large number of
the subscribers left without paying.
This of course stopped the church
building. Articles of incorporation were
made and filed August 1, 1851. Trus-
tees-Paul C. Jeffries, n. P. Graves,
u. w. Caldwell, j. D. Devin, Charles
Lawrence, Washington L. Bastain and
T. j. Holmes
In the spring Of 1852 the matter of
church building was again, talked of
and as the people of Ottumwa were
very anxious to have new church, J.
w. Caldwell was deputed to go to Red
Rock and purchase walnut logs, out
of which to saw the lumber. He pur-
chased barge raft of logs and Jink
Vesser and sons who were experienced
lnavigators were hired to raft them
down to Ottumwa.
They got the logs down safely and
landed them at the foot of Court street.
but the water was too low to get them
over Appanoose Rapids to Adams &,
Baldwin's mill, which stood where
Fair Williams & Co.'s bridge works
now stands. Soon after the river be-
gan to rise and one Sunday morning
it was concluded that the raft must
go to the mill, it was case Of ''now
or never"
| The Raft Breaks.
| A company was soon formed, con-
sisting of II. Hammond, who was class
leader, J. ]. Adams, r. H. Warden,
postmaster and editor Of the Courier.
M. q. Hopkinson, r. Kinney, N. C. Hill
and perhaps one or two others, who
volunteered to engineer the precious
raft down to the saw mill. They start
ed off in high glee, but the raft took a
sheer on them, struck a towhead
about where the Market street bridge
4 now stands, tore the raft nearly to
pieces and baptized Hammond, Hill,
Snodgrass and Hopkinson very un-
4 willingly. Those who were tipped into
the water waded as best they could
and regained the shore on the east
side, while the others chung to what
was left of the raft and landed it safely
on the east side of Appanoose Island.
or what is now known as Hayne street.
About half of the logs went down the
Iriyer.
| Church Finished In 1857.
A skiff was obtained by means of
4 which the navigators who stuck to the
raft were rescued in time for a late
dinner, six hours after they had start
ed out. When the water fell, the logs
!, were hauled back to the mill by Jay
: Sinnamon, cut into weather boarding
and stacked up to dry. After laying
there some time, it was decided to
build stone church, and the lumber
was sold and the proceeds invested in
rock, quarried by Horatio Gates and
John Harkins, who had a monopoly in
that business in the river channel. 1t
is supposed that at that time, there
would be people uncharitable enough
to say that the misfortune of that raft
run on Sunday, was a judgment of Di.
vine providence, but the early settlers
thought there was no day too good to
7 work for the erection of a house OF
God. The building committee con
I, tracted with John Bier to build the
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