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The History of Our Church

The church now known as Conway United Methodist Church began in 1870 with worship services held in different homes in the community.  It was not until 1874 that the church was officially organized when Mr. and Mrs. M. M. Mizell donated two acres of land on the corner of Conway and Anderson.  One acre was designated as a cemetery (it is still part of the church facility).  On the second acre the members built a log cabin type structure that looked somewhat like the sketch on the right (with fire ring out front) that served as their meeting place.  The Rev. James D. McDonald was the 1st circuit rider for the newly organized church then known as "Prospect Methodist Episcopal Church South".  It had 11 members.

In 1881 the members cut trees, took them to the sawmill, brought the lumber back and built the wooden frame building pictured on the right.  This building served well until it was replaced by a fellowship hall (now named Callaway Hall) in 1959.  This new (in 1874) building served as the fellowship hall, recreation facility and sanctuary until completion of our current Sanctuary in 1973.  The current Sanctuary is pictured below.  Part of the original 1874 frame building is preserved, physically, in the sanctuary today as an inlay into the top of our altar table. The fellowship hall was remodeled in 1994, named Callaway Hall and serves as our administration building and provides library, meeting and classroom space.

Sanctuary Today
Our facilities are light years ahead of those of our founding fathers. But what vision and dedication they displayed!
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Conway's People Made the Difference

Times were not easy for the families that made up this new community. The killing freeze of 1894-1895 put a real set back to the small community and caused many of the farmers to give up and move elsewhere.  However, the church survived.  The written records and testimonies that are preserved demonstrates the moral and spiritual courage of the people that established, maintained and nourished this church for all us to have today.

The honorable George Crawford was among the early settlers.  He served two sessions in the lower house of the state legislature and was elected to the state senate at age 75. His tombstone is in the Conway UMC cemetery.

 

 

 

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