Denton Churches

DENTON CHURCH
1876-1892
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1893-1938
METHODIST CHURCH
1942-1968
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
1968 - Present

Denton Precinct
Church services began early in the Denton area.  Between 1876 and 1881 Sunday School was held in the Shane School, which was located south of Denton, and also  held  in the Hudson School which was located northeast of Denton.  In 1881 a school was built in Denton and then the services were held in the Denton School.  Two of the early preachers  were E. T. Hudson and Nathan English. The dominate nationality of the church was English.

In 1890's George Stuart started teaching Sunday School, and  Rev. John Smith conducted church services every Sunday.  The people of the community wanted to build their own church.  The building project received financial support from the entire community, including people of other denominations which included Catholics and Lutherans.  In later years the Methodist were able to help the Catholics in a similar manner.

The Ladies Aid of Denton Methodist Church was organized in 1892 before the church was built.  Mrs. James Hocking was the first president. Other officers were Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Cobb, and Mrs. Frank Denton.  Their first contribution was the pulpit, the carpet and money toward the purchase of the pews.  The Ladies Aid has been very active through the years.

March 16, 1893, a conference was held at the home of A. W. Reddish. Elected to the Board of Trustees to build the church were Rev. John Smith, President;  J. R. C. Miller, Secretary;  F. R. Denton, Treasurer; J. W. Waugh, and E. B. Slawson.  Mr. Frank R. Denton donated the land on which the church still stands.

On June 12,1893, people gathered for the ground breaking for the new church building.  Peter Johnson, James Hocking and Thomas Huddleston staked out the building.  Mrs. J. W. Keever led the devotional exercises by starting with "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord."  Rev. John Smith offered a prayer of thanks and blessing for the new enterprise.

Mrs. James Hocking turned the first spade of dirt.  Members of the Ladies Aid Society took turns turning a spade of dirt.  A story passed down was that J. R. C. Miller or Frank R. Denton were to turn the first spade of earth, but Mrs. James Hocking got tired of all the speeches, and grabbed the spade from the men.  Therefore she became the first to break the soil.

June 22, 1893, people gathered to lay the cornerstone for the Methodist Episcopal Church with Rev. John Smith officiating.  The Denton Methodist Church was dedicated August 20, 1893, by Rev. Ravil Smith of Philadelphia.  Assisting him were his father, Rev. John Smith, Rev. J. W. Embree, and Rev. Ingham of Emerald.  Rev. Samuel Felton of Olney Church in Philadelphia, made a gift of a 36-inch bell to the church which is still in use today.

On the day of dedication, they were short $90 for the church and $30 needed to pay the expenses of the minister.  It was decided to take up a collection among those present for the $120 needed.  

Those people giving money that day were E. Blairdsell, J. L. Payne, O. Olson, J. Miller, Cobb, Olney, Mrs. Berryman, Mrs. Huddleston, Mrs. Gilbert, E. Peterson, Guthrie, Bowers, Miss Cobb, Angelo, Bowers, Roskrow, D. House, Denman, Bambridge, Rich Wilson, Earl T. Huddleston, F. Mayse, W. W. House, Mary Berryman, Markle, Mrs. Hocking, Mrs. Keever, Mrs. Moffett, Mrs. Olsen, Mrs. Beard, Holk, Mrs. Conklin, Miss Huddleston, Reider, Carruthers, Ingham, Ham, Thackery, Jesse Slawson, and Giles.

In 1911 a parsonage was built.  It was used by the pastor for many years.  In later years the pastor didn't live in the community so the house was sold in 1964.

In 1916 a basement was dug for a dining room and kitchen. On a stormy night in 1919, lightning struck the church steeple.  Ray Giles, who lived across the street with his mother, Lottie Giles, remembers awakening to a great noise during the storm.  Many others in the community were startled awake, but it was the next morning before anyone knew what had happened. Lightning had struck the steeple which was damaged beyond repair and was later removed from the church.

In 1893 the church was the Methodist Episcopal Church.  In 1939 the Methodist branch was formed and the church became the Denton Methodist Church.  The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren denominations merged in 1968 to form a new denomination, the United Methodist Church. Thus in 1968 the church became the Denton United Methodist Church.

In 1938, the Methodists were forced to stop having church services. They didn't have money to run the church.  From 1938 to 1941 the church was used by the Lutherans.  In 1942 Methodist services were again held at the church led by Rev. Hinnah, but there was no regular pastor for the next five years.  

In 1945 and 1946 The Seventh Day Adventists came to Denton Methodist Church and held morning services. They brought with them special musical talent from Union College. Rev. John Klein became the pastor in 1949.

In 1968 Mrs. Iva Parks donated an organ and in 1973 the sanctuary was remodeled.  In September 1975 new restrooms were built at the rear of the church.  The day before the work was completed, the church's old outhouse was stolen. In 1978 a gift from the estate of Helen Clegg resulted in the basement being remodeled with new wiring and a heating system installed. A new piano was also purchased from the Clegg estate.

Mrs. James Rosekrans taught the teenage Sunday School class for forty years. Mrs. Frances Flickinger was church organist for many years and Sunday School Superintendent for twenty-five years.

November 12, 1999, eighty years after lightning struck the church steeple, a new steeple was placed on the Denton United Methodist Church. Max Kirk built the new steeple and installed it. Fund raisers and memorial money was used to finance it.  

During the ice cream social, people signed their names on the steeple. The names were later covered with wooden shingles. Future generations will be thrilled to discover these names. The steeple was dedicated February 13, 2000.

At the present time the members are raising money for a storage facility so that the churches property can be stored at a central location rather than in members' garages and basements all around the Denton and surrounding area.

The original building is still used today. Denton United Methodist Church is part of the Conestoga Parish made up of Pleasant Dale, Malcolm Raymond and Denton. Two ministers serve these four churches.

The Sunnyside Cemetery is next to the Denton church. It is not the church cemetery but a community cemetery. It was dedicated June 7, 1890. Daniel M. Denton who died in 1880 is buried there. Rev. John Smith died January 28, 1911, and is also buried here. A United Methodist Church Commemorative Marker was placed on his grave August 19, 1984, in recognition of his valuable contributions to the life of the church.

Pastors serving the Denton United Methodist Church are as follows: