RESEARCH
See the Darrtown Methodist church Facebook page and/or the church website.
Darrtown United Methodist Church
4309 Walnut Street
Darrtown, Ohio 45056
Chronology of Pastors
that served the Darrtown
Methodist Church
1889-90: Frank Leever
1891-94: Andrew Hamilton
1895: George W. Vorhis
1896-99: John H. Lease
1900-04: Oliver P. Hoffman
1905-06: Joseph W. Patten
1907-12: Oren D. Becker
1913-15: D. S. Ferguson
1916-17: William T. Williams
1918-19: Gilbert P. Austin
1920-22: Lewis A. Washburn
1923-24: John F. Laird
1925: James Otis Young
1926: Wesley N. Mantle
1927: Marion Q. Ladd
1928-29: H. A. Smith
1930: Wallace Miller
1931-36: Ralph C. Jones
1937-39: Floyd S. Webb
1940-43: Frank H. Karns
1944: Joseph K. Price
1945-47: Orrill Dunn
1948: Walter McCarley
1949-51: Harley J. Martin
1952-53: C. Melvin Alkire
1954-58: Edwin J. Gilford
1959-62: Dale Bumgardner
1963-68: Robert L. Hayes
1969-70: Philip Rice
1971-73: Richard M. Lehto
1974-75: Norman M. Wright
1976-78: Lynn J. Huffman
1979-80: Robert T. Bumgarner
1981-88: Harold F. Braley
1989-92: Nancy Ratz
1993-94: Robert J. Schnecker
1994-98: Lawrence Brock
1999: Judith T. Henderson
1999-2002: Edwin R. Stuhmer
2003-13: Edwin R. Beck
2014-present: Chris Trumbell
Related events
1810: "The church roots date to 1810, when a Methodist group organized in what is now known as 'Charleroi,' where the cemetery still exiists." (per Hamilton Journal-News, 08/19/1961)
1871: Methodist church built (per Hamilton Journal-News, 10/27/1996)
1874: Building sold at sheriff's sale (per Hamilton Journal-News, 10/27/1996)
1875: Congregation repurchases building and purchases church bell (per Hamilton Journal-News, 10/27/1996)
1907, July 6: Cyclone destroys half of building. During re-construction, Methodist services conducted at Darrtown Lutheran church.
1908, Jan. 22: Miller diary reports Methodist church undergoing repair.
1908, Apr. 12: Miller diary reports "Methodist people dedicated their church today."
1917, Dec. 3: Miller diary reports "I attended a lecture by Tudnor (sp?) Williams of Seven Mile - our Methodist preacher at this place every two weeks."
1921, Dec. 24: Miller diary reports:
"…I attended a Christmas entertainment at the M.E. church this PM. Very good."
1926, Aug. 11: Rev. Mantle officiated the funeral of Frank McVicker - per newspaper article
1926, Dec. 5: Rev. Young officiated at funeral of Lena Davis - per Hamilton Evening News, Dec. 9, 1926
1930, Aug. 20: The Hamilton Evening Journal reported, "The Ladies Aid society of the M.E. church will have the annual MITE BOX opening and missionary service in the church Sunday evening, August 24, at eight o'clock."
1933, Jan. 28: Miller diary reports: "Arnold has been busy in the last two weeks, doing electric wiring. Finished job at Collinsville, Ohio and is doing some work today at the M. E. Church of Darrtown - making some electric extensions."
1961, January: Methodist congregation ends relationship with former Darrtown Union Sunday School. (per Hamilton Journal-News, 10/27/1996)
If and when additional info about Darrtown Methodist ministers is acquired, it will be added. If you have info related to this topic, please use the link in the footer to inform the webmaster.
Darrtown Methodist church members celebrate church's 125th birthday
RIGHT:
This news article appeared in the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal News on October 27, 1996.
TWO SIGNIFICANT EVENTS WITHIN 14 YEARS!
Members of the Darrtown Methodist Church celebrated two historic events within a period of 14 years.
> ANNIVERSARY OF STRUCTURE: In 1996, the building turned 125 years old
- as it was constructed in 1871.
> ANNIVERSARY OF ORGANIZATION: In 2010, the church organization turned 200 years old
- as the church was established in 1810.
Documents that were assembled for those two historic events appear below and the history of the church is reflected within those documents.
1996: DARRTOWN METHODIST CHURCH BUILDING IS 125 YEARS OLD
2012: BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF METHODIST CONGREGATION
LEFT: This photo was taken in 1955, from behind the Weiss home on Main Street, looking westward, toward the Methodist church.
The three photos of the Darrtown Methodist Church (at right and below) were taken by Paul Weiss. The Weiss children (Frances, Bill, and Linn) contributed the images to the Darrtown.com website.
ABOVE: This image captures some work behind the Methodist Church. Bill Weiss suggested that Ben Barbour may have been the bulldozer operator. And, yes, the small structure between the bulldozer and the church is an "outhouse" - i.e., outdoor toilet.
ABOVE: Four "supervisors" include (L-R): Unidentified, Earl Young, Dick Bufler (with hands on hips) and Jerry Young.
Mr. Marvin Russell contributed the next five Bible School images (one at the right and the four below).
If you can identify any of the persons who appear in these photos, please use the link in the footer to contact the webmaster.
LEFT: Mrs. Marcella Baumann is the woman seated at the right side of the table. All others are unidentified.
BELOW: The girl standing at the right is Naomi Jo Witherby; the woman seated in front of Naomi Jo is her mother, Mrs. Jean Witherby. The girl with the blue blouse may be Ruth Decker.
BELOW: The woman in the background is Georgia Wills.
BELOW: These two images were donated by Deanna (Lemmons) Richardson, in October 2013.
Deanna's mother, Ida Mae Lemmons (left) and Sally Hansel (right) are prepared
to participate in the 2003 Methodist Church Vacation Bible School parade.
The Methodist church appears in the background.
√
The following 1933 newspaper clipping was found in May 2022.
Webmaster notes:
The first motion picture, without sound, was introduced in the United States, in 1910. The first "talking" motion picture was introduced in 1927. So, it was a bit of a big deal, in 1933, when the Methodist Church showed motion pictures in Darrtown. Notice that the church made this 1933 event open to the public.
FYI... in 1933, "King Kong" was the top money-making movie of the year. Leading actors of the 1930s included James Stewart, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis.
The following 1937 newspaper clipping was found in December 2022.
Click the link at the right to read multiple entries that Mr. L. A. Miller made in his diary regarding the flooding that hit southwest Ohio, in early 1937.
1933 - METHODIST CHURCH SHOWS MOVIES
1937 - HIGH WATER MOVES METHODIST SERVICES TO LUTHERAN CHURCH
The chronology of Methodist pastors (see the list above) shows Rev. R.C. Jones serving as the Methodist pastor from 1931-1936. According to this news item, he actually served through February of 1937.
JOSEPH DITMAN LETTER ADDRESSES 1933 METHODIST CHURCH HOMECOMING
As evidenced by the content posted below, on September 14, 1933, the Journal News of Hamilton, Ohio published an article about a September 10th homecoming program at the Darrtown Methodist church.
Central to the news article was a letter to the church membership from Mr. Joseph Ditman of Westminster, Maryland. The letter is reproduced below.
Mr. Ditman and his family attended the Darrtown M. E. church during the years that the Ditmans lived on a farm north of Darrtown. The story of the Ditman family moving from Maryland to Darrtown and back to Maryland is told at the Ditman Family page.
Below is the headline that accompanied the 1933 news article.
Below is the link to the transcription of the Ditman letter.
1953 NEWSPAPER ITEM REPORTS CHURCH EXPANSION
The March 20, 1953 edition of the Dayton Daily newspaper reported that the Darrtown Methodist Church planned to erect a $10,000 addition that would be used for Sunday School classes, social, and recreational activities.
Click the following link to see: