First United Methodist Church of Gilmer

First United Methodist Church of Gilmer

Gilmer's early settlers came in the mid-18th century. By 1849, records indicate Baptist and Methodist congregations shared space at the county's log courthouse for their services. At that time, the Rev. J.B. Tullis, a Methodist circuit rider, was appointed to the Gilmer mission. He and J.L. Camp, Sr., organized a Sunday School for the early Methodist Episcopal Church, South, congregation, which soon received a charter and was officially founded c. 1852.

In 1854, the congregation organized a men's academy; two years later, they established a women's academy. These two schools, later administered by the local Masonic lodge, continued until they closed in 1862, during the Civil War. Education remained important in the Gilmer Methodist Church, which supported reading and writing in its Sunday School programs for all ages.

The congregation's first two sanctuaries were frame structures. At this site, deeded to the church in 1881, stood the second structure, a white, Gothic revival building. The congregation, with more than 450 members, built a larger brick structure here in 1911. In 1924, church members financed a parsonage, located next to the sanctuary. The church continued to grow, adding an educational building in 1948 and, in 1956, dedicating a new sanctuary. They constructed a new parsonage in 1974 but retained the original home for use by the youth director and youth group.

Organizations within the church have included the youth and choir programs, as well as the Women's Home Missionary Society and the Men's Bible Class. Through its mission and outreach, and with expanded facilities, Gilmer's First United Methodist Church continues to serve its community more than 150 years after its first worship services.

(2003)