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Melville United Methodist Church (Melville, La.) records

 Collection
Identifier: LACUMC-1983-039

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the activities of the Melville United Methodist Church (Melville, La.). The collection includes membership records, baptism records, Sunday school records, and disaffiliation records. Some membership records are photocopied facsimiles. Baptism records (1962-2000) also document baptisms at the nearby Palmetto United Methodist Church (Palmetto, La.).

Dates

  • 1886 - 2023

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical / Historical

Melville United Methodist Church (Melville, La.) is located at 406 First Street, Melville, Louisiana.

The Melville charge first appears in the 1887 Louisiana Conference Journal, when Jeptha Landrum (who is buried in the cemetery) was appointed to serve the area. He had organized the Melville Methodist Church on November 15, 1886 with 36 members. On April 19, 1887, property on the corner of First and Payton Streets was obtained and the first church was built. After the church was destroyed by a storm, a second church was constructed in 1894 by J.S. Burgess. It was 32 by 50 feet in size with a tower 44 feet high. Wood from the original church was used in the construction.

The 1894 church served until October 2, 1949, when the last service was held there. It was torn down to make room for a new, larger church. While construction took place, services were held in the Melville High School Gym. The minister at that time was Rev. Sam Lantrip.

The congregation concentrated on raising funds for the new building. They sold dinners, wrote letters asking for donations, and had many other fund-raisers. The building was finally completed. The stained glass windows behind the pulpit are from the original church building.

The original parsonage was replaced in 1959 under the leadership of Rev. O.L. Golson. The new parsonage is located behind the church.

Melville United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in 2023.

Source: Timothy Hebert, “The Historical Register of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church,” (Louisiana: Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2004), page AC-30.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Organized by subject, then chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Collection consists of two transfers. Church registers and Sunday school record book (accession 1983-039) transferred by Doris B. Johnson in 1983. Membership books, baptism records, and disaffiliation records (accession 2023-124) dropped off by unknown person at First United Methodist Church (Alexandria, La.), then transferred by Sheila Foreman (Alexandria District Office administrative assistant) in 2023.

Title
Finding Aid to the Melville United Methodist Church (Melville, La.) records
Author
Created by Carolyn Garison in 1983, updated by Olivia Brignac and Chris Brown in 2017, updated by Jasmine Jones and Chris Brown in 2023.
Date
2023
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
2911 Centenary Blvd.
Shreveport LA 71104 US
(318) 869-5462