Home > Archive > Churches > Free Methodist Church

Free Methodist Church

Located: The church is now used as the Grange Hall.

The Free Methodist Church was first introduced in Nebraska in the early 1870s. In 1884, the Kansas conference organized a Nebraska district in the southeastern part of the state. T. H. Allen and F. A. Smith were first appointed to the district.

In 1890, a Nebraska conference was organized at the Bethel Church near Yutan, Nebraska, by general superintendent G. W. Coleman. In 1889 Rev. Bracken was appointed pastor of the Blair Church. The same year a new church was built. The church was known as Blair-Bethel Fletcher circuit with Rev. F.E. Stephens successor to Rev. Bracken. Through the years the Blair church shared ministers with Omaha or Fremont. Resident pastors have included H. C. Williams, Truman Bauer, Ivan Turner, Merle Hockman, Harold McBride, Floyd Cooper, Robert Hagenmeier and others.

Pastors serving the Blair church as a circuit with other churches have included. H. M. Williamson, V. A. Bagley, Mrs. Rachel Chormley, C. B. Patrick W. H. Lee, J. C. Green, F. A. Hand, Ivan Booker, Harold Timm, J. C. Bedford and others.
In 1953, with Rev. Truman Bauer as pastor, part of the old church was torn down. It had stood for 63 years. The new building began. Under the direction of Rev. Ivan Turner, a new building was completed and dedicated in 1955. There never was a full time pastor from 1931 to 1953.

Some of the members of the church through the years were Libby and Peter Johnson, Dan and Marie Greeno, Maude Compton, Harold Christophers and Enid Hood and many others. Many of the members moved from this community in the mid 1960s. In 1969 the church was sold to the Grange. Submitted by Mrs. Russell Musick and Floyd Cooper.

Blair Historic Preservation Alliance | P.O. Box 94 | Blair, Nebraska 68008 | contact@blairhistory.com