Mountain View
United Methodist
Mountain View United Methodist Church has had a long and very interesting history. A Methodist Church was founded in 1888 at St. Clair Bottom Schoolhouse by several people of the community. The first pastor was the Rev. T. E. Wagg. After worshiping in the schoolhouse for some time, the worshipers decided to build a church.
The land for the new church was purchased from David Pickel by Hugh B. Copenhaver. Mr. Copenhaver, Ephriam Umbarger, Ezra S. Neff, and Levi M. Cole were some of the influential members of the congregation. According to church records, the church was consecrated Mountain View Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1888.
Our Story
The church was an "A" frame shaped building surmounted by a belfry, and it was located a few hundred yards south of the present church. It faced west, with the road at front. Across the front of the church was a porch. After the congregation moved to the new church, this old building was sold to George (Duck) Cress, who demolished it and used the materials to build a home for his family in Shuler Hollow.
It is assumed that the present church bell is the original bell from the old church because no record of a new bell being purchased has ever been found. Records show that the church was on the Marion Circuit at that time.
According to information in a copy of an old Conference Annual, the Rev. R. K. Hargrove was Bishop in 1888; and in 1889, the Presiding Elder was the Rev. W. W. Hicks. The REv. J. C. Kenner was Bishop in 1890, and the the Rev. J. T. Frazier from Chilhowie was Presiding Elder. In 1898 the church was changed from the Marion Circuit to the Holston Circuit, Abingdon District.
By 1908 the congregation had grown to 178 members, and the need for a larger place of worship was necessary. One and one-half acres of land were purchased just north of the then-existing church from Robert L. Duncan and wife on April 6, 1909, for the price of $1.00. Construction of the new building became a community project as well as a congregational project. Some of the foundation stone came from James F. Brewer's farm. These stones were chiseled into shape and laid by William Frye, a member of the church, and his son Henry.
Other Frye men laid the bricks, which were brought from Salem, Virginia. Samuel Powers and his sons Garfield and Beattie hauled the lumber for the church from the area of Skull's Gap. It is said that Mr. Powers drove his team of horses over roads so bad that only five hundred board feet of lumber could be hauled at each load.
Among the carpenters who assisted in the construction were Lee Tomlinson, James R. Dolinger, John Mason, Sherman Jones, Andy Blevins, Fount W. Berry, and Early Bennett. Other church members donated their labor. Beautiful stained-glass windows, honoring some of the people who were influential in bringing the church into being, enhanced the sanctuary. Some of the names of those so honored are still legible on the windows.
Mrs. Levi (Jenny) Cole was responsible for the interior furnishings of the new chcurch. She insisted that nothing be used or placed in the church that the members would not have in their own homes. She believed that only the best they could provide should be used in God's house.
Some of the pews were purchased in memory or honor of loved ones. It is also believed that the organ was moved from the old church and was later replaced by a piano.