One hundred and twenty-five years ago this month, the church building that houses the Ridgeway United Methodist Church was dedicated as part of a three-day long district conference. The program included devotional services, literary programs, sermons and a revival. The pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Ridgeway in 1900 was Rev. O. P. Kutzner. He served the Ridgeway circuit which included Yankee Ridge, Morris Chapel, Pleasant Valley and Hazel Valley for three and a half years during which the current building was built. He was then appointed to the Cainsville circuit where he served for 9 months until he passed away from complications of typhoid fever. One of the Ridgeway church’s stained glass windows was dedicated to his memory.
Rev. J. A. Showalter preached the first evening of the conference. He would be appointed as Ridgeway’s pastor after Rev. Kutzner. Some of the history has him confused with A. J. Showalter, who wrote the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”.
The Methodist church was originally formed in 1880, worshipping on a corn crib located behind where the New Ridgeway Hotel now sits. “The bell used in the corn crib at the time the church was organized is the one used in the Methodist church today, so the story goes.” The first church building was completed and dedicated in 1881, but by 1898, the congregation had outgrown that first church building and needed something bigger. The current church was built at a cost of $3000 and was dedicated debt-free at 2 pm on January 24, 1900. Bishop J. N. FitzGerald of the St. Joseph district preached the dedication sermon. (Sources: Ridgeway Journal, Jan 18, 1900 and “100th Anniversary, Ridgeway United Methodist Church”)
The drawing in the Ridgeway Journal has the image reversed – the bell tower is shown on the right side of the church when it is actually on the left. The program in the paper also noted that “Those who come through St. Joseph will notice there is only one train out to Ridgeway and it leaves the Union Depot at 10:05 a.m.”.
