Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-10-27
THE PORTALS OPEN.
Corvallis Place of Worship and
Its History.

where for many weeks a force of
men have been noisily engaged
in re-modeling the Methodist
Episcopal church, there is soon
to come a, calm. While not COM
pleted, the task is drawing near
an end, and on Sunday the edi-
fee, transformed from the ordi-
nary into structure not only OF
greater utility but of real beauty,
will throw open wide its doors
with a welcome to the old friends,
and the ns W, the casual acquaint-
ance and the stranger within the
Igates.
When completed, the church
will be Que Of the handsomest in
the valley outside of Portland.
The building now contains on
the upper floor, an auditorium,
a lecture room, committee room,
study, and cloak room. Below,
when completed, there will be a
Sunday school room, parlor, work
room and kitchen. reading room,
reception room, and others.
Both the interior and the ex-
terror are newly painted. There
is new paper, new electric light
fixtures, a complete new heating
plant and various other improve
ments.
The estimated cost of the
entire improvement is $4,000.
In the early history OF the
Methodist church in this city,
there is much that is of interest
to the church going public of to-
day.
Of the charter members only
one remains in Corvallis to wit.
ness the opening of the remodel
ed edifce next Sunday. She is
Mrs. John Stewart, 81 years ol
1age, who was the first white wo.
man to reach Benton county,
settling here in 1s45.
In the spring of 1847, two
years after her arrival in this
section, Mrs. Steward attended {
wedding several miles up the
Willamette, and there met Rev
:. Bleen, whom she requested t.
{ visit her home and there hole
religious services. Although
dubious as to where his hearer.
were to come from, the gentleman
agreed to 60, and at the time ap
pointed he arrived at the Stewar
T home, after a thirty mile walk
: and there found an audience o
f forty people awaiting him. Mrs
, Steward had sent word to neigh
bors for 20 miles around. Thi
was the first sermon the hostess
| had heard since crossing tn
!; plaius andthe first ever held i
: Corvallis. The following year
' church with a membership of 81
: or seven was organized by Rev
S John Mckinney, who served thi
n place as one point on his circu;
e between Roseburg and Orego
City.
The salaries of these early da
preachers differed somewhat fror
{ the present day divines. Will
d now it is summed up in dollar
S and cents, it was then measure
a under three heads; viz, "tabl
d expenses, fuel and horse teed.
Il There may have been one re
dl deeming feature-collections wei
not slow in coming in!
: The circuit from Oregon Cit
: to Roseburg was finally inte
: rupted, trouble having arise
IL with the Indians, and it tue
le only extended to Eugene.
IS With the growth OF membe
1t ship in the Stewart-McKinne
% church, the services were tran
a. ferred from the Stewart home
id log school house which occupis
" the present site of the Stewart +
II sidence on Main street, Corval1i
i In the early SOS, cushio1
:. = were introduced in church pew
= and by some of the members we
Il condemned as worldly. 1t is I
lated that one member utter
disdained their use. and that
ng going into pew he invariat
RS turned the cushion back and S
u. on the bare board!
os It was in the early SOS, te
t. I. THAT DR.. Pearne, Of the Method
40 denomination, came around t
ty fiorn, bringing the house
tsections-that later became