Biography

First United Methodist Church was located at 104 South Horner Street, Oak Grove, Louisiana.

The church was organized in 1873. The first services were held in a building that was located on the present Oak Grove cemetery site. That building was a community building used for school and other activities.

In 1896, I. E. Moore donated an acre of land to the church. A church was soon built on that site, located in Old Town. In 1913, the church bought a lot on Jefferson Street. The church building was put on timbers and the men led mules in pulling it to the new site.

In 1917, a storm destroyed the church. A rumor had it that a traveling evangelist said that the residents of Oak Grove were so sinful that the church should have been destroyed. A new building was constructed in 1921 at the Jefferson Street location.

In November 1950, the church bought land on Horner Street. A new facility was completed at the new site in 1951.

Forest United Methodist Church (Forest, La.) merged with First United Methodist Church (Oak Grove, La.) in 1995.

First 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 MO-65.

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