Richland Co., Ohio

 
 

Church Records

 
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Shenandoah Christian Church History

Organized February 24, 1876

 
 
 

Compiled (in 2003) and submitted by Kay

 
 
 

See also:  Photo of church (ca. 2002);  Charter Members of Shenandoah Christian Church


ShenChurch1908.jpg (203780 bytes)

Shenandoah Christian Church, circa 1908

(click image to view at actual size)


Shenandoah Christian Church History

The Shenandoah Christian Church is a part of a rich heritage that reaches back to the time when Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio were part of the American frontier.  The Brotherhood, now known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), began as a “Restoration Movement” to restore the New Testament concept of the church.  The early leaders of the Brotherhood, Thomas and Alexander Campbell, Barton W. Stone and Walter Scott, the four most well known, searched the pages of the New Testament in order to discover the true meaning of the church of the living Christ.  From this study came their understanding of the communion of the Lord’s Supper each Sunday being opened to all who confessed Him as Christ and the baptism of believers by immersion.  Perhaps just as important as those two doctrinal beliefs was the growing awareness of the Oneness of the New Testament Church which developed in the minds of the early Brotherhood leaders; for from their very conception the Christian Church has stressed the importance of unity.

In the year 1870, the “Union Meeting House” was situated in the northwest corner of the cemetery which is located on the west side of the main highway, Route 13, just south of the village.  This meeting house, founded in 1849, was used by the Quakers, Presbyterians, German Reforms, Methodists and Church of God or Winebrennarians, as a house of worship.  Thus it would seem fitting that the beginning of the “Restoration Movement” in Shenandoah - a movement which emphasized the unity of the Church of the Living Christ - should share in the use of a “Union Meeting House”.  Instrumental in building this edifice were Christian Urich, David Miller, Tabias Fox, George Burgoyne, Charles Saviers, Peter Secrist, William Foulks, Daniel Quinn and Henry Young.

However, the time in which we are particularly interested is the third Lord’s Day of July in the year of 1870.  Through the efforts of Mrs. Catherine Sanker, John Tanyer, an employee of the McClain Handle Factory and one well-versed in the scriptures, and William Sonnanstine of Shelby; Jacob Lowe, a circuit rider, was invited to preach in the “Union Meeting House”.  A small handful of people gathered and he announced that he would come again one year later to preach.  Faithful to his promise, he came on the third Lord ’s Day in July and having preached, renewed the appointment, setting the day another year in advance.

There were no visible results from Jacob Lowe’s three annual sermons, but the good seed had been sown, and the harvest was to be reaped later.  Many were the discussions on winter nights around the stove in the village store and at firesides where groups gathered to while away the winter evenings, as religion was a vital topic in those days. 

Meantime, a Church of God revival had swept through the community, enlisting many, but not affecting those known to accept the teachings set forth by Jacob Lowe on his infrequent visits to Shenandoah.  The discussions concerning this “New Way” continued in the store.  Two gentlemen, Dr. Starr and John Tanyer were often heard in these discussions.  Jonathan and Isaac Morris, proprietors of the store, were quiet listeners to these controversies and had reached the conclusion that these men were advocating the same position as presented by Jacob Lowe.  

In due time, to be exact in the winter of 1875-1876, conditions justified a “protracted effort” at Shenandoah on gospel lines.  Brother John Mercer and his wife Jane, who were members of the Clear Creek Church, suggested that    Jacob Lowe’s brother John, who was then preaching at Clear Creek, be brought to Shenandoah to hold a series of meetings.  John Mercer brought John Lowe to preach.  They were given the “Meeting House” in spite of many objections.  Jonathan Morris told John Lowe that he felt sure of ten persons who would accept the “Way” during the revival.  The meeting began.  The first three sermons were:  

1. “When the Kingdom was Set Up”

2. “Conditions of Entering the Kingdom”

3. “How to Live in the Kingdom”    

After three weeks, an invitation was given and 30 people responded, gave the good confession and were immersed.  Others followed and the revival continued six more weeks and a church was organized February 24, 1876, with 75 Charter Members. 

The movement continued to grow so in the following year, 1877, a new meeting house was erected at a cost of $3,000.00.  The original structure consisted of the front entrance, vestibule, open balcony, and sanctuary.  The pulpit was in the alcove on the east side of the building (where the organ sits now).  The first pews faced east and may have been wooden benches.  The building was supplied with new pews some years later.  The bell still in use today was put in place when the original structure was built.  At that time there were no telephones, so it was equipped with a toller and when anyone died in the community, the bell was tolled one toll for every year that person had lived. 

As time passed this building became inadequate for the growing congregation and an addition was built in 1914 which is the present pulpit with baptistery and the classrooms on each side.  A recent discovery of a picture of the church dated 1908 shows the original windows in the church were made of clear panes of glass and not stained glass.  The original structure had three windows on the north side and three on the south side.  With the addition in 1914 to the north side, the three windows were removed from there and placed next to the windows on the south side, making the three pairs of windows we see today.    It may well have been at this time the clear glass was replaced with stained glass.  

The first parsonage was built around 1914. It is located on the east side of Shenandoah on St. Rt. 603.  A garage was built next to it for the first minister of the church who owned an automobile, D. S. McDonald.  The parsonage served many of Shenandoah’s ministers before it was sold in 1979.

Meanwhile, the “Union Meeting House” which had been more or less abandoned, was moved closer to the highway and just north of the cemetery.  This was accomplished in approximately 1921.  An addition and improvements were made to the building and it was then used for community functions such as the Farmer’s Institute, community plays, Grange, ice cream socials, church Thanksgiving dinners and bazaars, etc.    In 1932 the Grange took over and the building was known for many years as “The Grange Hall”.  When the Shenandoah Grange ceased to exist around 1972, the building was again abandoned and used by the church for storage and then torn down in 1989.

The church building continued to undergo many changes and improvements throughout the years.  In 1937 a full basement was added under the church which included a kitchen.  In 1962 and 1963 the balcony was enclosed and included the minister’s study and a large classroom.  At this time the sanctuary was redecorated and new cupboards and appliances were installed in the kitchen.  A new well was drilled in the winter of 1966.  The sanctuary was again redecorated and renovated in 1982.  The latest addition consists of a spacious kitchen, an addition to the Fellowship Hall, extended entry, three additional classrooms, furnace room and first floor restrooms.  Through God’s blessing and the dedication and hard work of many members of the church, this addition was completed debt free and was dedicated on May 19, 1989.  

In 2001 the church’s original pews were restored and upholstered and a pavilion was built northeast of the church.   In 2002 a small stained glass window was removed from the bell tower and a portion of it, which contained the date 1876, was incorporated into a new stained glass window and installed in the front of the building.  Also in 2002, the church was equipped with air-conditioning and the parking lot expanded and paved to accommodate a growing congregation.  

Several “money making” projects have been undertaken through the years.  The “Ice Cream Socials” started long before electricity came to the community.  They were held just north of the church parking lot which was then a hickory grove.  A gasoline torch was hung from the trees for light.  Ice cream was made from fresh raw milk and fresh country un-graded eggs.  The power for cranking the freezers was donated by good men from the community on the afternoon of the event and then packed in ice until evening.  Making homemade ice cream ended when the government began rationing sugar because of   World War II, but the socials or festivals, continued throughout 1992.    Thanksgiving dinners and bazaars were held at the community building, later known as the Grange Hall (Union Meeting House).  The steamed chicken suppers were open to the public and the bazaar items were made by the women of the church.  Items not sold by the time the dinner was over were auctioned off.  Some auctioneers were men of the church.   

The making of apple butter started in 1958 and 24 gallons were made for their effort.  The people of the church still gather to make the delicious apple butter in the big copper kettles over open fires, pretty much the same as it was made back in 1958.   The apple butter making today has become a much larger event, however, with the quantity made being around 60 gallons or more.     

The monthly breakfast began in 1996, and continues to be a well attended event.  Much of the proceeds from the free will donations go to missions in the community, nation and world. 

In June of 2002 the membership made a significant decision regarding denominational ties.  After much prayer and discussion, a congregational meeting was called and the members voted unanimously to leave the Disciples of Christ denomination and become independent.  

Much of this church history has come from the work of Salome Oswalt Greenup and notes from Vernon Wolford.  In Salome’s written history from 1936, the 60th anniversary of the church, she writes: 

“The rounds of the ladder of human progress are made of the lives of consecrated men.  Whatever we enjoy as a great people is built upon the labors of those who went before us.  We begin where they left off.  May those of us here at Shenandoah, who are members of the younger generation, have no less a clear vision today then those earnest souls back in 1876, and may we carry on in faith that the “ancient Gospel” may have free sway as was intended by that pioneer preacher of years ago.”



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