Brief history of the Mt Ida Methodist Church , Montgomery Co. Arkansas

The Mt Ida Methodist Church first member was Hon. J.B. Fulton.  He was was received into the church in the year 1868. We called him "Uncle Jim".  He lived across South Fork Creek, just north of Mt. Ida about ½ mile on the farm now owned by Mrs. Dora Tollerson. He crossed the creek, in a canoe, at what has been known for many years as the Fulton boat landing; he walked to church.  Many people now gone have been baptized in the stream at the place where he crossed; he was the First Superintendent of the Sunday School that we know anything about; was the outstanding Lay Leader of the church and sometime occupied the pulpit when the Pastor failed to reach this appointment.

During the early years of the church, the Parsonage was located at Black Springs. Our Preachers were then called "Circuit Riders". They rode horseback over and across the hills and carried their bible and change of clothes in a pair of saddle bags slung across the back of the saddle. The Preacher in the early days of the church stayed the most part with Mr. Fulton, in his home, but in later years, it was the custom for them to put their horse with Mr. C.J. Watkins who owned and operated the Watkins hotel for many years. The Preachers continued to stay at the Watkins Hotel  and get the best food and treatment in the country until the parsonage was erected her in Mt Ida and the Pastor brought his family here to live. Our first church service held in the old courthouse house that later became Mt Ida's first school house that stood in the south part of the town, east of the Watkins Hotel and later this old building was used as a barn. W.G. Whittington and Jerry Witt attended their first school in this old Church building.

On February 1st, 1888, G.D, Goodner and wife, executed a deed to Out Lot No. 16 of Whittington's addition to the town of Mt. Ida to the Methodist church for the sum of $25.00 The present church was located on this lot. A short time after receiving this deed, Messrs. Louis and Robert Jackson built out first Church house out of the virgin timber that was as  at that time plentiful in Montgomery County.  Our new stone building has  been built around the old church house. Mr. G.D. Goodner who was of a large family of Goodners that settled in the early pioneer days at Oden, was elected and served as Clerk of the Circuit Court for many years, was one of the early and first members of our church.  He was a fine singer and lead the singing in both church and Sunday School services.  He would take a tuning fork and strike it on the end of a bench and put it to his ear to get the proper pitch. All the members carried to church a small hymn book, bound in leather but had no music - nothing but words. In church the preacher would start the singing and the congregation would all join in if they knew the song. If they didn't know the song, the preacher would read off a line and they would sing that line and on through  the song.  The sermons were long and the children would get sleepy.  Most mothers carried a satchel with some ginger bread or cookies and let the children have a few bites to quiet us down and assuage our hunger. After the sermon, the preacher was invited to go home with some of the members for dinner. The best chicken and pies if anything was left, the boys who had to wait for the second table as we called it - had a feast.

The trustees named in the deed above mentioned from G.D. Goodner to the church property are as follows: J.B. Fulton, George Golden, C.J. Watkins, H.A. Whittington and A.J. Pool.

The Pastors of the church beginning with the year 1868 are as follows:

John Holmes	1868	4 years
W.C. Adams	1872	4 years
E.M. Whitemore	1876	4 years
B.E. Mitchell	1880	2 years
R.S. Scott	1882	2 years
W.R. Harrison	1884	1 year	37 members joined
Jas. Nicholson
J.C. Marshall	1886
C.C. Gadden	1887
C.S. Bayless	1888
B.A. Few		1889
C.W. Drake	1890
J.Y. Christmas	1892	Est. the Black Rock Campground camp meeting near Gaston
J.B. Williams
Bro. McKennon
Bro. Bass
C.A. Fuller
J.C. Johnson
J.M. Yearwood
David Boll
J.M. Hamilton	1919-1922 present District Superintendent; The church acquired the ground from Jerry Witt where the parsonage stands
George Cagle
A.W. Hamilton
C.D. Meux
S.B. Mann
George Warren
W.J. Whiteside
Fred Arnold
Robert Beasley
W.S. Cazort	1940-1950. Built the present church building and parsonage

W.G. Whittington, our druggist for many years, gave the best years of his life to the work of the Superintendent. Mr. C.H. Herdon will long be remembered for his splendid administration of said duties. Max O. Witt has been superintendent now for several years. Reverend Osborne White is the Pastor. Under his charge the membership is growing and more people are coming to hear him. Mrs. Dora Tollerson has been secretary of or Sunday School for 30 years and was we have always found her at her place of duty.  Pioneers of this church were devoted and faithful workers; they gave liberally of their time and their lives to promote the cause of Christianity in this community and we hope those to follow will keep the fires burning; the fire of loyalty to the church and to God.

W.G. Whittington and Jerry Witt
April 1953. 

In 1986 the Reverend Kurt Boggan served. In 2001, Fred Hunter's Sunday mornings were busy as he held Sunday Worship at the Joplin United Methodist Church at 8.30am, onto the Oden United Methodist Church with Sunday Worship at 9.50am then back to Mt Ida United Methodist Church for Sunday Worship at 11am. In 2008 the pastors at the First United Methodist Church, 243 Whittington Street, Mt Ida are Ted (Thomas E) DeWeese & Terry Scott and Sunday Worship is still at 11am.

Our sincere thanks to Bill Ray, grandson of Mr W.G. Whittington, for providing the transcript and photographs.  
Posted June 2001
Montgomery Co. ARGenWeb Project