Biography

Marksville United Methodist Church was located at 651 North Main Street, Marksville, Louisiana.

The church was organized in 1897 with seven charter members. Evariste J. Joffrion donated land to build the first wooden church. Five of the seven charter members were from the Joffrion family. The pastor, Rev. W. L. Woodward also served as minister for the Presbyterian congregation.

The first parsonage on North Main Street was acquired in 1927 while Rev. White served as pastor. In the late 1940s, that home was sold and the Bijou Lafargue home next door to the church was purchased for use as a parsonage. In 1979, the current parsonage on Debellevue Street was purchased. The Lafargue house was taken down in 1982 and the space was used as a parking lot. The parsonage was renovated in 1994.

An education building was constructed in 1952. In June 1957, Hurricane Audrey damaged the church and it had to be taken down. A new $24,000 brick church was constructed in 1958 under the leadership of Rev. Carl Lipe. The front wall of the new structure contained a circular stained glass depiction of Jesus at Gethsemane.

In 1985, an education building was constructed behind the church. The debt was paid off on June 26, 1994, under the leadership of Rev. Marvin Pratt. Over the years, Mrs. Betty Garrot led the ladies of the church in holding rummage sales to help pay off debts.

Marksville United Methodist Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church in November 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 AL-30.

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