Westminster's HistoryWestminster celebrated our 150th anniversary through out 2006!
Bits of Interesting History:
*The first meeting of the Westminster Church was on January 3, 1856 and 22 people attended.
*Westminster’s own church was built at South Second and Oak. It was dedicated December 20, 1858. A custodian was hired for $38.00 a year.
*Rev. Morrison Higgins from N.Y. State was the first minister at an annual salary of $800. Only 47 days later he died of pneumonia at the age of 42. The new church was draped in black.
*In 1879 hitching posts were installed along the church. In those early years, pews were rented.
*In the first 50 years of our church history the average tenure of 12 ministers was 4 1/2 yrs. Church officers changed little. Membership grew to 326.
*In early years, several members were excommunicated by session for “improper conduct, drinking and non-attendance.” As late as 1947, three members were dropped for “continued unchristian conduct”.
*On Saturday, April 6, 1946, fire devastated the building that had been Westminster’s home for 87 years.
*After the fire, Mr. & Mrs. O.D. Corbridge gave as a gift a site for a new church at 3000 Rural St., in the middle of a cornfield. During the five intervening years, services were held in the Masonic Temple. The new church was dedicated Dec. 9, 1951.
*Through wars, depression and a disastrous fire this congregation grew from 22 charter members to 776 in the new, expanding neighborhood on Rural Street.
*On Sept. 11, 2001 the request was made to Presbytery to buy 80 acres of land for a future church. On April 15, 2004 ground was broken on land at Spring Creek and Bell School . . . again in a cornfield.
*On Palm Sunday, April 9, 2006, we held our first service in our new building.
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