St. Paul United Methodist Church
St Paul United Methodist Church West Side
St. Paul United Methodist Church Education Building
St. Paul United Methodist Church Parsonage
This building once served as the Methodist Church
[Copied: St. Paul United Methodist Church History] There was no Methodist church in the village of Chesterfield until 1830. Up to that time residents worshiped at the rural churches which had been organized earlier. Two of these congreations were Gainey’s Meeting House, organized before 1808 and later Friendship Church. In 1830 a Methodist Church was organized in Chesterfield. For eight years worship services were held in the old school building which stood where Jim Harper’s house now stands. In 1838 our first Methodist church was constructed on the west corner of Page and Main Streets. There were no resident ministers for about twenty-five years. The first ministers served churches as far away as Jefferson and Society Hill. In 1856 the congreation bought the house next to the church for a parsonage. This was our pastor’s home for about sixty years. The house was dismantled when the new Western Auto store was erected. In 1951, the present parsonage on West Main Street was constructed on a lot donated to St. Paul by the Stratton family of Charlotte, North Carolina, in memory of their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Swinnie. About 1876, the Methodist sold their church building to the Baptist and constructed another fram building where our present church stands on land donated by Miss Margaret E. Craig. In early reports from ministers and presiding elders, the Chesterfield church is referred to as “Court House.” We do not know exactly when the name St. Paul was adopted. In 1905, our beautiful St. Paul was built. It is imposible to estimate the cost of this building because its construction was truly a work of love. Most of the families were people with little income and only small monetary gifts, but labor and materials were donated freely. The minister, Mr. J. J. Stephenson, was a man of vision and practical skills. He served as architect, supervisor, and sometimes laborer. It is recalled that he and Mrs. Stephenson made a trip to Atlanta to have the lovely window behind our pulpit copied from a picture in Mrs. Stephenson’s Bible.
Donna Davis Hurst: It is believed that St. Paul United Methodist Church was designed by architect, Ernest Vincent Richards, who reportedly built the John T. Hurst House at 306 West Main Street across the street from the church. (See Ernest Vincent Richards biography in the appendix.) The church is a large brick Gothic Revival Church with a cross design that includes a tall tower and spire, lancet windows with stained glass and high narrow windows with pointed arches.