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First United Methodist Church (Oak Grove, La.) records

 Collection
Identifier: LACUMC-2023-114

Scope and Contents

This collection primarily documents the activities of First United Methodist Church (Oak Grove, La.). It includes membership records, quarterly and charge conference records, administative council and official board records, administrative records, financial records, and directories.

The quarterly conference and charge conference records contains material from other nearby congregations -- Forest, Kilbourne, Locust Grove, and Pioneer.

Dates

  • 1890 - 2023

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical / Historical

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.

Extent

1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Arranged by subject, then chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred by Katie Wilson (Shreveport District Office administrative assistant) in 2023.

Title
Finding Aid to First United Methodist Church (Oak Grove, La.) records
Author
Beth Vogler and Chris Brown
Date
2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
2911 Centenary Blvd.
Shreveport LA 71104 US
(318) 869-5462