The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-04


as Scottsville thence to the falls of the
Cahaba river, where now the town of
| Centreville is situated. From this point
the pioneer prophet turned north by way
| of the east to a place near Wilson's
HILL now the beautiful town of Monte
vallo Here he organized his first So
ciety and held his first. quarterly meet
ing Thence he journed again northeast
| until he reacher "Catawla Town" on
| Canoe creek, which is now called Ash
Vile. and is the county site of st. Clair.
From Catawle Town, through Bristow
Cove, he again reached Bear Meat
Cabin
He made four rounds. each time en-
larging his circuit visiting and preaching
| at Tuscaloosa, Greensboro. and Marion.
| Thus he spent five months. and on Oc-
| tober !, 1873 at the session of the con-
| ference held in Nashville, he reported two
| pastoral charges formed in all this terri
tory-Tuscaloosa and Cahaba circuits.
| "The Tuscaloosa circuit extended from
point near the head of Black Warrior
| river to its junction with the Tombigbee
| river" In length this territory was 215
miles with an average width of fifty miles,
| covering an area of nearly 1900 square
| miles. Jones valley and what is now
| Birmingham, it will be seen, was en-
braced in this territory.
| In 1919 three conferences furnished
preachers for the young state of Ala
| bama, viz: the South Carolina, the Mis-
] sissippi and the Tennessee. The latter
| furnished preacher for Tuscaloosa cir
| cuit-Rev. John Kesterson. In October OF
| 1879 Robert Paine, afterward Bishop
| Paine, was sent by the Tennessee confer
ence to serve this circuit in 1920.
Coeval with the coming of Robert
Paine was the advent of young man
! from North Carolina Reuben Phillips,
who after ride on horseback of twelve
| days, reached a settlement on Village
creek, where he organized and opened q
school early in 1879 The school house was
near Browns springs, which now is in
| the limits of this city. A few days after
| the opening of this school the county of
Jefferson was constituted. At this time
. there was no town or village in this
section. The place where the county site
! was afterwards established and was
| called E1yton. was at that time known
as Frog Level Race Ground THE race
| track was the principal thing" says the
| historian, land horse racing was the chief
business carried on there at that time"
| Strong Moral Conditions.
| The young school teacher was not a
professional Christian, but was man
of strong moral convictions At the close
Level Races were to take place. Antici-
pating this event with youthful glee the
young men of the school laid this plans
| to participate in the gayeties of this occa-
/ sion. But their expectations were not
! fulfilled. The young teacher. on the
evening preceding the event, delivered a
lecture OH horse racing, in which he de-
nounced it with excoriating severity as
public evil. demoralizing in its tendencies
and not to be countenanced by right
| thinking men. He further announced that
the penalty for any one of the school pre-
suming to attend the races would be ex-
pulsion. Waiting on him In a body the
students demanded that he retract. but
instead, he reiterated his former state
ment with emphasis, and left the boys to
| abide the consequences. Strangely enough
they did not go. The day at Frog Level
was one of great carousal. fighting and
bloodshed This historic school house be-
came preaching place, and the young
school teacher was converted in \that
building.
| During the same year Rev. James Tar
! rant settled about eight miles west of
! Birmingham. He came from Virginia. He
| brought with him a young negro man
whose name was Adam. Phis slave, like
his master loved God and kept His COM
| mandments. Adam cut and hauled the
logs to build meeting house to which
!, the name of Bethlehem was given. This
| building gave place in few years to
| frame church house. and since January
| of this year there has been erected on
| the spot of modern structure at cost OF
| $500 Here the preacher on Tuscaloosa
circuit preached to the fathers and foun-
| ders of Methodism in this section. This
, was none other than Bishop Payne.
In 1923, five years after the coming of
Ebenezer Hearn, the Jones Valley Circuit
was organized. 1t then included more
| territory than was in Jefferson county.
| In process of time it increased in num-
bers but diminished in area. The descen-
dants of the founders of Methodism in
Jones Valley are numerous in this city
and in Jefferson county-far too numerous
| to mention by name.
Growth of Methodisnn.
Passing now over period of fifty years,
| and beginning with the year 1872 we
compare ourselves with ourselves, and
notice the growth of Methodism from a
moral local point of view.
In 1872 the First Methodist church was
organized in Birmingham. Early in
March of that year ninety-nine Methodists
were found and DR. T. G. Slaughter, thea
tationed at Elyton. organized them into
-. church. The organization was made
| in a rented house on First avenue, be-
tween Twenty second and Twenty-third
streets. During that year house was
| built at a cost of 100000 on the corner %
i Sixth avenue and Twenty-ffrst street. and
was dedicated the following December
| by Bishop Doggett. A short time after
wards Rev. Thomas H. Davenport was
appointed preacher in charge He. was a.
man of small stature but large in grace
and good works. He served faithfully
during the year 1873, But the growth
OF the town. the prosperity Of the people.
and the progress of the church were well
nigh paralyzed by the scot,rae or cholera