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History

What follows are some interesting historical facts from the life of

Jeffersontown United Methodist Church

 Click on the image above to jump to that timeframe in our history

• The Jefferson Circuit was first mentioned in Church history in 1811. The Church at Jeffersontown was part of this circuit. Jeffersontown United Methodist Church, therefore, is one of the oldest Methodist churches in Kentucky.
• The first pastor assigned here was Charles Bondwell in 1811. 
• In 1811, our nation's fourth president, James Madison, was serving the third year in his first of two terms. 
• Bishop Asbury wrote in his memoirs that he preached in Jeffersontown (known as Brunnerstown at the time) on October 20, 1812.

• In 1816, a log cabin building was constructed and given the name Union Church (pictured above).  A contract signed on August 26, 1819, gave use of the structure 'on the first Thursday of the month and six days thereafter to the German and English Presbyterians, on the second Thursday to the German and English Lutherans, on the third Thursday... to the Methodists, and on the fourth Thursday... to the Baptists.  This building stood where the First Baptist Church now stands on the corner of Old Taylorsville Road and Watterson Trail.
• As time passed, the people became dissatisfied with the arrangement of a Union Church, and land was therefore acquired on April 9, 1860, from Steven Powell.  The cost of the land, located at Taylorsville Road and Jefferson, was $200.  Today, the education building of the church stands on this location.  Our first sanctuary building was dedicated on this site in September, 1865 (picture below).

 

• In 1888, Mr. Frank Dravo presented to the church a bell cast by Kaye and Company of Louisville.  This bell hung in the church belfry and for many years called the community to church and the volunteers to fight fires in the town.  On September 24, 11972, a memorial bell tower was dedicated, made from the 1988 bell, along with the come of the bricks form the original sanctuary building.  This bell tower stands today facing Taylorsville Road, between the sanctuary and the education buildings.
• Our Sunday School records go back to 1886.
• In the 1920's, art glass windows were placed in the in our sanctuary at a total cost of $800.  When that sanctuary was demolished in the 1960's, some of the windows were used in the Memorial Chapel in the education building we use today. 
• In the 1930's or 1940's, two large pot-bellied stoves in the sanctuary were replaced with a coal furnace.  This caused much trouble, due to a draining problem.  The water would get into the furnace area and put it out, forcing services to be canceled.   
• In the fall of 1948, a new parsonage was purchased, at a cost of $12,000.  It was located at 3503 Maple Road.  
• The church had never had a bulletin until Rev. W. F. Huddleston was pastor (1942-1948), as he brought with him the equipment to print them.  When he left, his successor Rev. K. A. Loy stated that he would like to continue to have one, and the trustees recommended that the church secure a mimeograph machine for that purpose.  
• For several years the Jeffersontown youth had been part of a community Christian Endeavor group, since the youth group at Jeffersontown was small and there was no one in the church to assume the leadership of a group.  By the late 1940s it was decided that the congregation had the leadership and the youth to form a Methodist Youth Fellowship.  From this small beginning, the congregation has continued a strong emphasis on youth work through today.  We currently have a paid youth director and a strong and active United Methodist Youth Fellowship (UMYF). 
• In September 1950 Mr. C. A. Hummell retired as Sunday School Superintendent after having held the position fro 25 years.  A chicken dinner in honor of the "faithful teachers and staff" was provided by Mr. Hummell and served by the Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS).   
• In July 1953 natural gas came to Jeffersontown and the board voted to run the gas to the church and the parsonage.
• While Rev. I. H. Owen was only pastor for a short time, he was, at the church long enough to be involved in the organization of our  Methodist Men's group on May 24, 1956.  This group formed a dart ball team which was part of a church league.  From 1962 through 1966, they won the first place trophy 5 years in a row.
• Following Rev. Owen, the ministry of the two longest tenured ministers in our church history began.  Rev. Richard Ramsey served the 9 years from 1956 until 1965, followed by Dr. Roy E. Webster, who served until September, 1974.  Dr. Webster's was the longest by a few months.
• On September 2, 1852, the church purchased a lot from George W. Leatherman, to be used for a parsonage.  That lot was located at Watterson Trail and Grape Alley, and the house built at this location was used as a parsonage until 1948.

• On April 5, 1959, ground was broken on our second sanctuary.  All summer, the members watched eagerly as the building grew.  By the first week of October everyone was busy painting and cleaning the new facilities in preparation for opening day October 11, 1959.  At both services the church was full, with the afternoon service overflowing onto the front lawn.  The membership at that time was 299, with an enrollment of 266 in Sunday School.
• Following the opening of the 2nd sanctuary, the original sanctuary was converted into a gymnasium for the youth.  The facility was used for skating and basketball on alternating Sunday's.
• On October 8, 1967, ground was broken for a three story education building, to be constructed for a cost of $128,000, on the site of the first sanctuary.  Some of the bricks from the old church building were used to construct one of the walls in a memorial chapel which also used the old stained glass windows.  On March 10, 1968, the cornerstone was laid in the new building. 
• Many repairs to the 2nd parsonage had been required over the years.  In April 1968 a new parsonage on Auburn Avenue, in a just-opened subdivision, was purchased.  
• In 1972, the Women's Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild united to become the United Methodist Women.
• The Men's Prayer Breakfast was formed during the pastorate of Sam Clark in the early 1980's, and continues to this day.
• The project to install a church elevator, and expand the first and second floor foyers to accommodate it, was complete and consecrated on November 1, 1987.

• The sanctuary we meet in today was dedicated in the Spring of 2003.

The above facts are excerpts from

"Serving Christ for Over 180 years: A History of Jeffersontown United Methodist Church"  

by Mary Ellen Smith