Cornerstone History

I am working on the history of My church. These resources are duplicated on that page.

TimeLine

1720 John Wesley Start university life at Christ Church College, Oxford England.

1725 19 September – John Wesley was Ordained Deacon in Oxford Cathedral by the then Bishop of Oxford, Dr. John Potter, and later that day preached in the village church of South Leigh, near Witney.

1729 “Holy Club” was formed where members were call Methodist because the being so methodical in there studies. The name stuck.

1735 14 October - John and Charles Wesley depart for America (Georgia) During the trip they encountered the Moravians.

1736 6 February – (3 Months, 24 days later) arrived in Georga.

1736 Charles Wesley left America to return to England

1737 22 December – John Wesley left America to return to England

1738 1 February – Arrived at Deal, England (1 Month 9 Days later). In May began preaching “The Love of God for all” in London churches. Was told “Sir, you must preach here no more”

1739 2 April - John Wesley preaches his first open air sermon just outside Bristol, England.

1740 John Wesley and his followers move to “The Foundry” after split-up of the group at Fetter Lane. Home of the movement for the next 38 years.

1741 John Wesley began his traveling ministry which he would do for the rest of his life.

1746 At the 3rd Methodist Conference, John Wesley began organizing a rapidly growing flock. The country was divided up into circuits and each circuit was put under the charge a one preacher known as the assistant superintendent.

1747 Expanded his preaching to Ireland.

1751 Expanded his preaching to Scotland

1775-1783 – Revolutionary War

1784 September - After America declared independence John Wesley agreed to ordain ministers in America. Dr Thomas Coke was ordained as the “Superintendent of the Societies in America”.

1785 He visited 150 different places to preach. (75 years old)

1788 Charles Wesley dies – Wrote over 6000 hymns.

1791 22 February – John Wesley preached his last of42,000 sermons over 54 years.

1791 2 March John Wesley died.

1798 Jacob(1752–1820) and Katherine Zumalt settle at Fort Zumwalt. Jacob is a Revolutionary War veteran. Methodist circuit riders came to private homes in St. Charles County to conduct services. Rev. John Clark conducted the first service in the log cabin of Jacob Zumwalt, now the site of Fort Zumwalt Park.

1799 July KATHERINE ZUMWALT DIES.

1804 President Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory

1806 First St. Charles Militia was created with 6 companies

1807 Rev. Jessie Walker held services within the walls of Fort Zumwalt and administered the first Methodist communion in Missouri to early Methodist pioneers.

1808 The First Methodist Church was built near Peruque Creek (near railroad Trestle). It was a round one-room log building. This was not permanent because when the creek flooded, the church members could not cross it to get to church.

1809 A log church with a strong stone foundation was built near the Zumwalt log cabin. The first stationary minister, Rev. Gray, was engaged for a salary of sixty-four dollars a year. Rev. John Travis organized The Mount Zion Methodist Society.

1810 – Rev Gray – first permanent appointment minister - $64/year

1812 - June to 1815 February -War of 1812

1817 - Major Nathan Heald purchased Zumwalt’s Fort. Jacob Zumwalt moved to Pike county, MO. The Healds were survivors of the 1812 Massacre of Fort Dearboarn. Their only son was born at Zumwalts Fort in 1822. He lived most of his life in the old log cabin which was raided by Union officers during the Civil War. Darius Heald gave land to builed a new Methodist church, Helped starta a school for young woment and serverd in the Missouri legislature in 1856. In 1886 he moved his family into the new hansom brick home he had build on the hilltop overlooking the log house.

1853 The Mount Zion Methodist Society built a new church on five acres of the Jacob Zumwalt land grant. The Mount Zion Church was just 1.5 miles south of O’Fallon, east of Highway K. The men and women sat on opposite sides of the church. A “mourner’s bench” was used by a member whose weight of sin moved him to public confession. The “amen corner” across the aisle was for church elders and visiting pastors who had the privilege of accenting the sermons with loud “amens”.

1863 Many people blamed the church for the war. When Rev. Joe Pritchett rode to his circuit churches, he carried a gun which he laid across the pulpit when he preached. A female seminary called Fairview was founded. Young ladies from St. Charles and St. Louis attended.

1874 – Rufus Gamble (gave an organ) cause of controversy.

1878 Woodlawn Female Seminary founded by Professor Pitman. It had three teachers; it continued until 1900.

1880 The first organized Sunday school was attended by 86 children. It was opened by Professor Pitman at the Masonic Hall on Elm Street.

1882 The church was hit by a tornado and because of the damage and the size of the growing congregation, a new church was needed.

1883 The new Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church was built at the corner of Church and Wood Streets.

Celebrating our Past...

1885 The church bell was cast and installed in the church steeple.

1953 The Mount Zion congregation purchased the Public School building at Pitman and School Streets for $12,500. Services were held there until a new sanctuary was constructed.

1958 The new sanctuary was completed and The Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church became the Williams Memorial Methodist Church in honor of a substantial gift by Miss Marcia Williams and family.

1966 Williams Memorial Methodist Church was formally consecrated following the final payment of indebtedness.

1968 The congregation erected a new education building to provide more classrooms, a fellowship hall, and a kitchen.

1977 Adjoining property was purchased to provide for an office and storage space.

1979 A mortgage burning was held by minister John van der Graaf.

1980 The sanctuary was completely remodeled and a vestibule was added to connect the sanctuary with the education building.

1999 A study committee proposed relocating as the Pitman site did not have enough land to accommodate the desired expansion.

2000 Accepting the Building Committee’s proposed location, the church purchased ten acres of land on Tom Ginnever. Plans for a new facility began. The Fort Zumwalt School District, who had sold us the Pitman property, reacquired it in June 2000 for a price of $1,050,000. In May 2000, groundbreaking was held. While the new facility was under construction, the church met across the street in the Fort Zumwalt North High School Auditorium.

2001 Phase I of the new facility, renamed Cornerstone United Methodist Church, was completed at a cost of $2,800,000. The first worship service was held on April 21st and Bishop Anne Shearer consecrated the facility on September 9th.

2003 Cornerstone United Methodist Church is poised and ready to enter its third century of service to God and to the community.

2015 The reconstructed Zumwalt’s Fort opened as a gift to the City from the O’Fallon Community Foundation. It is the only rebuilt War of

References

Cornerstone and UMC History

UMC	UMC History Page	South Central Juristiction	Missouri Annual Conference
Methodist Episcopal Church History	Sage Chapel Cemetery	Preacher Jefferson Franklin Sage

O'Fallon Historical References

City of O'Fallon History Page	O’Fallon Historical Society Web Page	O’Fallon Historical Society Facebook Page
O'Fallon Historical Pictures	SCC O'Fallon History Page	Ofallon History WIKI
Patch - Looking back in History By Jim Frain, Patch Poster Aug 29, 2013 4:04 pm ET

Misc. Resources

setup wikipedia account	Wikipedia training	Wiki Cheatsheet
Missouri history wiki project	St Charles County History	History of Sage Chapel Cemetery