Biography

In 1853, Protestant worship services were being held at the Deerfield Masonic Lodge south of Delhi. A pastor (Rev. Thomas J. Upton) was appointed to “Deerfield” in 1859. Andrew and Martha Owen donated a lot on Main Street on which to build a church. According to the deed, the church was to be shared 50-50 between the Methodists and the Presbyterians. Materials were brought up Bayou Macon from New Orleans and the Methodist pastor led in the construction. The name of the congregation was changed to Delhi in 1860.

After sharing the building for a number of years, the Methodists bought a Baptist church in 1873 on Chatham Street to have a church of their own. The Baptist church was taken down in 1878 and a new structure built. That building was damaged by a 1905 storm and was rebuilt. In 1924, a new church was constructed at the corner of Chatham and Second Streets.

After Kate and Rudolph Wollank donated a lot at 305 West Ohio Street to the church on September 20, 1929, a parsonage was built.

In January 1948, the congregation decided to sell the church property and buy five acres of land on which to build new facilities. The parsonage was sold the following year. The first service in the new church was held on May 7, 1950. The new parsonage had been built on the side of the church. The debts were paid on the church by August 1952, and the dedication took place on February 1, 1953.

On October 27, 1957, before services began, the church caught fire and burned down. During the construction of a new building, services were held at the Delhi High School. The parsonage was moved to 711 Charter Street (and completed May 4, 1968) to make room for the new larger church and education building. The new church at 402 Main Street was dedicated on May 8, 1966.

The parking area was paved and a covered walkway added in the fall of 1973. Part of the money to pay off the church debts came from the sale of a home left to the church by Miss Fannie Travis who passed away in 1974. In 1975, the playground was fenced in and a mini bus purchased.

Delhi United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in 2022.

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 MO-25.

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