Siloam School, Church, Residence

 An interesting article that appeared in The Crittenden Press, June 3, 1982.

Siloam Methodists Disband

The Siloam United Methodist Church building, located on Ky. 297 west of Marion, will be auctioned Saturday, June 12, by Crittenden County Reality Co. Church members gathered for their final services there Sunday, May 23, 1982.

Church trustee Bob Wilson said the decision to close the church and merge with the Tolu United Methodist Church was a traumatic one for the dwindling congregation. The church has served the community for more than 140 years.

 

The Siloam Methodist Church was established in the early 1800's and the first deed for the property was dated Feb. 26, 1834. The fist building was probably a log structure located about a mile lower on Deer Creek than the present one, which is the third one to house the congregation.

 

Besides the 1834 deed, Wilson said church papers include a Bible dedicated to the church Aug. 7, 1856, and records started in the 1850's.

 

According to those records, at one time more than 200 people attended services there. “It was nearly the only church in the area, with churches being “widely scattered then,”. During the early 1900s attendance dropped off as people transferred their memberships to Marion and other closer churches.

 

The present building, was the former Siloam School, was purchased in the 1950s. It replaced a huge weather boarded structure located a mile down the creek from the present site.

 

Memories of Siloam's past are good. As late as 1939, Wilson said he could remember the old building being filled with people coming from around the area.

 

They would come and park their wagons and buggies outside the building. If it rained, they'd bring in their buggy seats and lap rugs. There were many times people got caught by the rains and had to stay overnight in the church because they couldn't cross the creek.

 

Other things Wilson remembered about the old church were the wood stoves and kerosene lamps. There were two huge wood stoves on either side of the room. The preacher preached with an overcoat on many a time. It wasn't unusual for the kerosene lamps to burn down, and the preacher continued his sermon in the dark.

 

Wilson added that during his childhood, worship services were held only once a month although Sunday School was held every week. The church was part of a circuit then, Preaching was held there once a month with the preacher going to either Hebron, Hurricane or Tolu Methodist churches on the other Sundays.

 

Others memories remembered by Wilson included that at one time the church was visited by large crowds for prayer meetings. When you walked or rode your buggy up to the service, you could hear the people singing and praying. I've heard it told that during one dry season, the people gather to pray for rain. Old Uncle Jimmy Wooten rode up to the church with an umbrella in his hand. When asked what he had it for he said he aimed to use it. He got to before he left too.

 

Wilson said that although selling the church building may be sad for the nine active members left, it would be better than seeing it continually vandalized. He added that the church's records would be sent to the Methodist Conference archives in Louisville.

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The historic building that once was a community school, then a church, and today it is a residence.

 

Picture above, made in the 1920s is when the building was the school house.

 

 This picture was made in 2007, a nice cared for home.