Biography

Springhill United Methodist Church is located at 104 Fourth Street Northwest, Springhill, Louisiana.

The first Methodist service in Springhill was led by Rev. R.W. Vaughan. He preached in a planning shed of the Pine Woods Lumber Company in 1895. The next year, he returned to start a Sunday School. A small building was built by the lumber company in 1896. Methodist services were also held in the area at Blockers Chapel. Over the next couple of decades, Blockers Chapel grew smaller as Springhill grew larger.

When Rev. William Martin was appointed to the charge in 1897, the church was organized. Services were held in the small building until it was destroyed by a tornado on March 9, 1902. For the next five years, services were held at an old school at the east end of Boucher Street.

In 1907, the lumber company built a new church. In those days, all of the denominations shared the same building. The site faced south towards Church Street. By 1918, the Methodists wanted to build a church of their own. The 1907 structure was sold to the Baptists for $500 and moved elsewhere. The Methodists built a new church structure on the Church Street location. The lumber company gave the land to the church and also provided a house to use as a parsonage. In 1931 and in 1940, additional space was added for classrooms. A new education building was constructed in 1950-51.

Springhill United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in May 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 SH-77.

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