Biography

Darlington United Methodist Church (Chipola, La.) is located at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 38 and Louisiana Highway 432, Chipola, Louisiana.

The original Methodist Episcopal Church, South of Darlington was built by Robert Williams in 1838 on the site of the Bethel Meeting House. The land for the church was donated by Walthal and Teresa Burton. The indenture for the land was dated December 13, 1837. The early church was primarily pastored by circuit riders. Services were only held once a month, though Sunday school was conducted weekly by a lay person.

In 1912, the church received 255 acres from the estate of Mrs. Elizabeth Ramsey Wilson. Her father, W. H. Ramsey, Sr., was once the pastor at Darlington.

The original church was taken down in 1945 and replaced with a smaller one. Some of the old church's materials were used for the new church. The first service was held in the new church on April 12, 1946 by Rev. H. B. Crammer. The church was remodeled in 1958.

In the early 1970s, the congregation began making plans to construct additional classrooms and meeting space. Finally in 1974, the decision was made to build a new sanctuary. Groundbreaking took place in November 1974, and it was completed by June 20, 1975. When the cornerstone was laid on February 27, 1975, it contained a small metal box with a Bible, a history of the church, a program of the week, the weekly newspaper, the names of the people involved, and copies of other church documents.

Darlington 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 BR-19.

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