From the book “From Then Til Now” by Kenneth McCutchan 1969.

Almost as soon as the first settlers had arrived there came also the pioneer preachers, working their way into the new west. Sometimes on foot and sometimes on horseback, they came dressed in the plain garments of the huntsman, rifle on shoulder, to find an hospitable roof and an audience to listen to their message. The homes in the McCutchanville area most frequently visited in the early days were these of Charles McJohnston, Levi Iglehart, and John Erskine. When the circuit rider arrived, the word was sent out that there was to be a "meeting," and the people came from as far as eight or ten miles to hear the word of God, traveling the way on horseback or on foot and bringing with them a lunch for the noon hour.

The cabin of the entertaining family was cleared of furniture as much as possible, and slabs from the clearing were brought in and set on end to make seats. Those assembled sang the old familiar hymns that they had learned in their homelands and listened to the rustic preacher as he shouted out his thrilling descriptions of the ineffable joys that awaited the saved, as well as vivid word pictures of the never-ending torments of a literal infernal hell prepared for the damned. Usually two services were held on meeting days--one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

The name of one of these traveling preachers who came to the home of Charles McJohnston in the early 1820s was Joseph Tarkington, who once preached on the text, "They shall go in and find pasture."

All denominations sought supremacy, and everyone came to all the meetings. The people were mainly of the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal persuasions. However, as time passed, Methodism became more firmly rooted than any of the other denominations, mainly because the preachers who came around were more frequently of the Methodist faith.

As early as 1819 Hugh McGary, the founder of Evansville, had opened his warehouse in the town for the use of visiting ministers on a 'Methodist circuit that was being organized to extend from Patoka south to the Ohio River and thence cast to the Falls of the Ohio, a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles. The permanent quarters supplied by Mr. McGary were an incentive for the riders to visit this area as frequently as possible. In the years that followed they perhaps came through McCutchanville about once every six weeks.

Methodism was also advanced by Charles McJohnston who had been of that faith in the old country, and who had as a youth met John Wesley and heard him preach. The McJohnston home was always open to the wandering clergy- men. Mr. McJohnston, however, was not narrow in his beliefs. When he died on May 3, 1828, he made a bequest of $300 in his will "to help build a house to worship God in," further stating that such a house when built was "to be free to all Christian denominations."

Eventually most of the Protestants in the immediate vicinity came within the folds of Methodism regardless of what their affiliations had been before, but often not without stern criticism of the ways of these Wesleyans. Agnes Henry, a staunch Scottish Presbyterian, is said to have remarked in horrified amazement, "They do na carry their Bibles wi' them when they gae to the kirk." But, nevertheless, the Henrys became pillars of the Methodist Church as the years went by.

After 1833 when the first log schoolhouse was built, the circuit riders often held their meetings there instead of in the homes of the villagers.

The first church society in the neighborhood was formed in 1840 and became a part of the Cynthiana Methodist Episcopal Circuit. The first regular preacher was the Reverend Thomas G. Beharrell, a "cultured, scholarly man of pleasing personality." Since the circuit's parsonage was located in Cynthiana, Mr. Beharrell had to make the long journey by carriage or on horseback. However, he managed to come fairly regularly every other Sunday. On intervening Sabbaths one of the local lay preachers took charge of services, some of whom were William Atcheson, Joseph Wheeler, and William Ingle.

About 1845 the community began to feel keenly the need of a permanent church building. The $300 left for that purpose by Charles McJohnston, Sr., seventeen years before was still untouched. There was apparently considerable discussion on the subject and perhaps some disagreement, for nothing actually materialized for more than a year when Charles MeJohnston, Jr., was finally appointed to select a site.

In 1846 Samuel and Nancy McCutchan deeded to the heirs of Charles McJohnston "one-half acre more or less to erect a house upon to worship God in and forever for the uses and purposes before mentioned." The deed was recorded February 11, 1847. This is the property upon which the McCutchanville Methodist Church stands today.

During the year the men of the community set to work to build. Timber for the framework was cut from the surrounding forests. It is said that not one dollar was spent for labor. The $300 allocated for a church in the McJohnston will was used to buy white pine weatherboarding, seats, and other interior furnishings. The building faced west, with double doors in front and four windows of twenty panes each on each side of the room. The seating capacity was probably about 125. When it was completed, it must have been, for those days, an imposing structure.

Dedication services were held on March 2, 1848. Robert Parrett, founder of Trinity Methodist Church in Evansville, was the dedicating minister. In compliance with the clause in Mr. McJohnston's will, "to be free to all Christian denominations," the house was dedicated as a union church.

Nancy McCutchan, who with her husband had given the land for the building site, also presented the new church with a large Bible inscribed, "Presented by Nancy McCutchan to be dedicated with this house, March 2, 1848." Today that Bible is a church relic and lies open at the foot of the cross on the altar of the present sanctuary.

In the autumn of 1850 the Blue Grass Circuit was formed and McCutchanville separated from the Cynthiana Circuit. The new organization included Locust Creek, Cypress, Barker's, Blue Grass, and McCutchanville. This was a group of widely scattered communities, and the poor pastor had to travel many miles to fill the pulpits of his charge.

The first pastor was a Reverend Mr. Myers, but since there was no parsonage to accommodate his family he did not remain long. William Atcheson, Henry Wheeler, Sr., and Edwin McJohnston, all local preachers, carried on the regular services until the conference met and assigned a new pastor. He was the Reverend William Hensley. It is believed that he and his family made their home with the McJohnstons during his term here. Mr. Hensley was followed by the Reverend Mr. Curran, who lived at the home of Andrew Brodie. Back in those days when the weather was rainy it became necessary to hitch four horses to the wagon to pull the Brodie family and the preacher to Sunday services; and then sometimes the men had to get out and push to get the wagon up the hill on Kansas Road.

In 1852 a three-room parsonage was built on land donated by John Whitehead. Seven years later, in 1859, three more rooms were added because the large family of the Reverend Levi Johnson could not be accommodated in such a small house. The parsonage then remained in that form until 1906 when it was demolished to make way for the house which today stands at 8909 Petersburg Road. This house served as the parsonage until March 1957, when it was sold and the present one at 9401 Petersburg Road was purchased from Louise (Mrs. Clarence) Coots.

In 1865 Locust Creek and Cypress were dropped from the Circuit, and shortly after that Barker's withdrew. Noble's Chapel and Centenary were added to form the group of four that remained together for the next eighty-eight years as the Blue Grass Charge.

In June 1953, the charge was divided again. The Reverend Glenn Kaetzel, who had been preaching at all four churches for the preceding two years, remained at McCutchanville to conduct regular every-week services at McCutchanville and Centenary. Blue Grass Church and Noble's Chapel became a separate unit with 'Mr. Kaetzel's brother, the Reverend Fred Kaetzel, taking over that pastorate. Finally at the beginning of the new conference year in June 1959, McCutchanville and Centenary each became a separate station, and the Reverend Clifford Miller was assigned as the first full-time pastor at McCutchanville.

The services in the early days must have been rather bleak. The Methodists, in order to get as far away from Roman Catholicism as possible, went to extremes. The service was completely without adornment, as was the church building itself. Emphasis was placed on the sermon, which was generally very long and loud. Hymnbooks were scarce. A leader would read one line of a hymn and the congregation would sing it after him - using, of course, a tune that was old and familiar. Then a second line was read and then sung, and so on. In case the leader was not a singer, somebody from the congregation was called upon to "pitch the tune." Quite frequently it was pitched out of tune.

As the years went by the younger more progressive members wanted a surer guide, and after much scheming a new reed organ was introduced on January 19, 1868. This "heathen" instrument brought forth a storm of opposition from the older folks, with grave predictions that the younger generation was straight on the road to perdition. One of the best word pictures of the old frame church was left us in a poem written by Albion Fellows Bacon, which was included in Songs Ysame. The minister to whom she refers was the Reverend William Ingle.

 

THE OLD CHURCH

Close to the road it stood, among the trees,

The old, bare church, with windows small and high,

And open doors that gave, on meeting day,

A welcome to the careless passer by.

Its straight, uncushioned seats, how hard they seemed,

What penance-doing form they always wore

To little heads that could not read the text,

And little feet that could not reach the floor!

What wonder that we hailed with strong delight

The buzzing wasp, slow sailing down the aisle,

Or, sunk in sin, beguiled the constant fly

From weary heads, to make our neighbors smile.

How softly from the churchyard came the breeze

That stirred the cedar boughs with scented wings,

And gently fanned the sleeper's heated brow,

Or fluttered Grandma Barlow's bonnet strings!

With half -shut eyes ', across the pulpit bent,

The preacher droned in soothing tones about

Some theme, that like the narrow windows high,

Took in the sky, but left terrestrials out.

Good, worthy man, his work on earth is done.

His place is lost, the old church passed away;

And with them, when they went, there must have gone

That sweet, bright calm, my childhood's Sabbath day.

 

The Reverend William Ingle was a local preacher who, for many years, appeared not only in the pulpit of this church, but in the neighboring churches as well, whenever they needed a substitute minister. He was a sincere, pious man who preached hell fire and damnation. His main fault was that when he really got carried away he would stutter. Several amusing tales have been told. Once he is said to have prayed, "O -h, God! G-grab 'cm by the heels, and sh-shake 'em over hell, b-but d-don't let'em fall in."

On July 5, 1878, Amelia McJohnston Atcheson (widow of the Reverend William Atcheson) died. When her will was read, it was learned that she had left $500 to be used for building a new church. Her sister, Wilhelmina McJohnston Moffett (Mrs. James Moffett), immediately matched that sum with a gift of $500. This cash in hand started the movement for the present building, and through solicitation by the minister, the Reverend T. C. Danks, along with Mr. and Mrs. James Inwood and Miss Annie Headen, sufficient funds were guaranteed to warrant the beginning of the work. The two living McJohnston heirs, Charles McJohnston, Jr., and Mrs. Moffett, then deeded the property (which all these years since 1847 had been registered in their family name) to a newly appointed board of trustees composed of Andrew Brodie, James Erskine, Sr., William Bohannon, and James Inwood. Mr. McJohnston, however, in transferring the deed, stipulated that the new building thereafter be called the McJohnston M. E. Church; and that he, upon his death, be granted the distinction of being buried, not in the cemetery, but on the church lawn. Both wishes were granted. A stone tablet high in the west gable bears the inscription "McJohnston M. E. Church, 1880." When Mr. McJohnston died in 1892, he was buried on the lawn. However, soon after that the new cemetery fence was built. Instead of following the cemetery property line, the fence was made to jog around the McJohnston grave so that, after all, he was fenced into the cemetery. His heirs, I think, never quite forgave the community for this bit of disrespect. The tall white monument may be seen today at the southeast corner of the church just to the right of the cemetery gate.

Much of the labor of building the new church was donated by the men of the community. A brick kiln was set up on the Erskine farm just to the rear of a house occupied then by the Samuel and Isabella McCutchan family, located on Kansas Road at the foot of the hill.

Cornelius "Bud" Jones (see Chapter 21), who all his life worked and lived on farms of the McCutchan family, was the only person who had worked at the kiln or in any part of the construction who was still living when the author was gathering material for this, book. He said that after enough, bricks were made for the church, the kiln was kept running for a time to make bricks to construct two houses for the McJohnston family. One, no longer in existence, was located on what is now the Baumgart Road. The other, on the Browning Road, is presently owned and occupied by the Arthur Hill family. Sand for the mortar was obtained from a sand deposit in the side of the hill on the Levi Erskine farm at the intersection of Southeast Browning and Kansas roads, immediately west of the cemetery.

The first brick was laid on Monday, April 12, 1880. Approximately seven and a half months elapsed before the building was completed. However, on August 23, one of the persons who had worked hardest on the fund-raising drive died without seeing her dream fully realized, Mrs. James (Maria Atcheson) Inwood. Since the structure was under roof at the time, work was laid aside and the scaffolding removed so that the funeral services could be held inside. The text of the Reverend Mr. Danks's sermon that day was "She hath done what she could."

Work progressed steadily during the early fall, and the board of trustees set November 28 as the day for dedication. A Reverend Joseph Wood was engaged to make the dedicatory address. But as the weeks passed the work went more slowly and it soon became evident that all would not be completed by the date set. Mr. Wood was unable to change his schedule, and the dedication services were held November 28, 1880, as planned, even though the building was not entirely finished.

Assisting in the service were the Reverend William F. Harned, John Webb, and the resident pastor, T. C. Danks. The entire debt was pledged on that day. The probable cost in aggregate was about $10,000.

On Friday, November 26, Squire Samuel McCutchan died. His funeral was held in the church the day after dedication, on Monday morning, November 29, at eleven o'clock.

Several weeks later, in December, the first marriage was solemnized in the new building. Frances Gabatus McJohnston became the bride of William J. Erskine, uniting descendants of the first two pioneer families.

In the week following the wedding the classroom doors were hung, and all the work was finally completed in time for the Christmas celebration.

The next date of importance was June 1883. That was the time of the wonderful revival. The Reverend John Tansey was pastor. It was through his influence, along with the official board, that a young Reverend Thomas Harrison of Boston was brought to McCutchanville to conduct a series of services that lasted for five weeks. He was entertained during his stay at the home of James Erskine, and was paid @100 a week for his services, a tremendous amount of money in those days. Although it was harvest time, the interest in the revival became so great that every night Mr. Harrison preached to, a capacity crowd. People came from neighboring communities to hear him. At the close of the five weeks there had been between 250 and 300 converts. Indeed, this man must have left his mark on the community. Twenty years later, when Asa Erskine died in November 1903, an eulogy read at his funeral contained the line, "his deeper Christian experiences began with the memorable Harrison meetings."

A brief description of how the interior of the church looked during the first part of this century may be of interest in years to come. In the early 1920s the old oil-lamp chandeliers that hung over the center aisle were replaced by some very plain electric fixtures set in the same position as the lighting of today. The old pot-bellied stoves in the front alcoves disappeared when a new furnace was installed in the basement. Before the Ladies Aid Society bought the first green carpet, straw mat runners lay in the aisles, but the platform was carpeted in brown. The center alcove, not then occupied by the organ, stood empty except for three black leather chairs and the pulpit which stood in the middle of the platform. The chancel rail had no opening in the front as it has today.

INTERIOR OF MCCUTCHANVILLE METHODIST CHURCH - PRIOR to 1920

A large American flag always hung vertically from the crosspiece in the top of the arch. During the early 1930s the walls were painted by the then popular process called "stippling." A plain tan color was brushed on first, and over this dark red and blue and brown splotches were applied with a sponge to give a mottled effect. All the woodwork, including the benches, was given a coat of very dark walnut-colored enamel, which, incidentally, never did properly dry on the benches. For years, on warm Sundays, the congregation would be stuck at the end of a long sermon.

An important date in the church's history was September 7, 1941. The preceding autumn the official board met at the parsonage and decided that something be done to renovate the interior of the sanctuary. The building had needed redecoration for a long time, and a great many of the congregation had expressed a desire for a pipe organ. Signs of a Second World War were appearing, and it was agreed that if anything was to be done, it should be done soon. The following list of "wants" was drawn up: new art-glass windows, new pews downstairs, complete redecoration of the walls and woodwork, a new furnace and flue, a pipe organ, new light fixtures, a new pulpit, new or rebuilt doors for the front entrance, paint on all exterior woodwork, and more parking space. The total cost of the proposed program was estimated at between $4,500 and $5,000. In the treasury was already the sum of $800 that had been left by the wills of Jacob Blasie (a recluse of sort, who had never been a member or even attended the church) and a late member, Mrs. Dora Tyzer. A fund drive, was begun on Sunday, February 23, 1941, which ran for one month. More than the required amount was subscribed.

All improvements that had been listed were accomplished except new windows. After an investigation revealed that the old ones were of a rare etched glass imported from France which cannot now be duplicated, they seemed much prettier, and the board decided they should remain unchanged and the new interior decoration keyed to blend with them. The walls were then painted cool gray-green with ivory on the wainscoting and other woodwork. A new altar was installed in front of the organ grill, and the chancel rail was opened in the middle, allowing the altar to be approached from the center aisle. All this made a tremendous improvement in the appearance of the sanctuary.

To celebrate the completion of the project a service of rededication was held on September 7, 1941. Bishop Titus Lowe was present to give the sermon of the morning and to officiate at the baptism of infants. Following a basket dinner at the schoolhouse, Mrs. Armand Haeussler of Evansville gave a recital on the new pipe organ.

The next large project was the building of the Parish House.

For a number of years before the beginning of the Second World War there was talk of the great need for more space for recreation and education. In early times the church and the school had been so closely associated that the school building was used for all church functions except worship services and Sunday School; but as the school community expanded and patrons of many denominations moved into the area, it seemed no longer proper for the Methodists to have unlimited use of the school property. The church needed facilities of its own. However, a building program seemed far beyond the congregation's financial means, and the project was always looked upon as a dream that might materialize in the far distant future.

In 1942, when I was serving with the armed forces in North Africa, I received requests from various organizations back home for contributions in the form of United States War Bonds. The idea came to me that since everyone was very war-bond conscious, it would be a good time to begin a fund for the church's future building program. Thereupon I sent home a money order for $18.75 with instructions to purchase one $25.00 War Bond (to mature in ten years) which was to be put aside as a start on the building fund. It was not much; it was all I could afford at the time on a corporal's pay. But it happened to be a seed sown at the proper moment, for the idea caught on in the community and by April 1944 a total of $3,425 was on hand. By 1949 the amount had increased to $16,000, all unsolicited. It was at this point that the church's board of directors felt the time had come to build. A systematic solicitation was arranged to secure additional contributions.

On Good Friday, April 15, 1949, the excavation was begun for the basement of the new Parish House.

The response from the community was excellent. Nonmembers as well as members contributed generously. As important as the money donated was the great amount of labor

given by the men of the neighborhood-more than 2,300 man hours. When the structure was completed, the total cost in cash had been only $38,250. A contractor's estimate had been $75,000.

Dedication services were held on April 8, 1951, with Bishop Richard C. Raines as principal speaker. The Reverend Lewis H. Ice, a former pastor, read the morning scripture from the same Bible that had been used 103 years before at the dedication of the first church in 1848. Dr. Clarence A. Shake, District Superintendent, also a former pastor of McCutchanville, assisted in the service.

At noon there was a basket dinner in the new dining room, followed by a short afternoon service in the Parish Hall. It was at this time that I spoke on the church's history and conceived the idea of writing a history of the community.

A. C. Voelkel was then chairman of the official board. Members of the building committee were Joseph Sansom, chairman; Allen Patterson, treasurer; and W. C. McCutchan, Alfred Grote, and Jason McCutchan. Copeland Anfield was the architectural consultant and Robert Henry the construction superintendent. Joseph Sansom died the following year and his widow, Mrs. Edna Sansom, had the chimes installed in his memory. These were dedicated on November 29, 1953.

Near the end of 1964, under the leadership of the Reverend Ronald Mercer, a movement was started to plan for a new church. A fund drive was organized for early 1965 and the firm of Hironimus, Knapp and Given Associates was selected to draw up a preliminary plan for new buildings.

An important motion was made and carried at an official board meeting that under no circumstances should the old church be destroyed. Even though a new sanctuary may be built at some future time, the old church is to be preserved as a monument to the past, kept in repair, and used as a chapel for special occasions.

The building committee appointed by the board included Marlin Rudolph, chairman; Raymond Barton, Bernice Bruner,

Thomas Herron, Gene McConnell, Kenneth McCutchan, Elvin Reed, Charles Walker, and John Weaver.

The first set of plans consisted of a quadrangle of four buildings designed to sit at the southeast corner of the intersection of the Kansas and Petersburg roads on the parsonage property. It was found, however, that the site would be crowded and little space would be left for parking lots. At this point Dr. & Mrs. Albert G. Hahn offered the gift of approximately three acres of land north of Kansas Road between Petersburg and Southeast Browning roads, with a stipulation that construction be begun within three years.

The architectural firm thereupon started all over again to produce a set of plans suitable for the sloping terrain of the Hahn plot. The design finally selected was conceived and drawn by Suzy Howell, Evansville's first woman architect. It consisted of a bi-level educational building and a very modern sanctuary, joined by a wing to form a courtyard.

At this time construction is being begun on the educational building which is to cost an estimated $200,000. Construction of the new sanctuary will be deferred for the time being until more funds are available.

 One sad note is that Miss Howell, the architect, did not live to see the building erected. She was stricken by a heart attack and died suddenly on May 24, 1967, age 26.

 

MINISTERS WHO HAVE SERVED THE McCUTCHANVILLE COMMUNITY

The Circuit Riders
William H. Smith	1824	John Ritchey	1830-31
Joseph Tarkington	1825	Enoch G. Wood	1832-33
Asa D. West	1826	Cornelius Swank	1833
Charles Slocum	1827	Isaac Owen	1835
Samuel Cooper	1828	Isaac McElroy	1836
John Fox	1829	William Beharrell	1836

 

 

Regular Ministers
Thomas G. Beharrell (Helped organize the first church society here in 1840 and became the first regular minister)	1840	Robert Baldwin	1885-87
William Atcheson		Samuel W.  MeNaughton	1887-89
Joseph Wheeler		Nicholas E. Boring	1889-92
Nathaniel Tower		A. A. Godby	1892-96
Richard Wheeler		S. S. Penrod	1896-98
William Ingle		J. E. Fisher	1898-1901
H. O. Chapman		H. N. King	1901-02
William F. Harned		Grant Ferguson	1902-04
Thomas W. Jones		E. A. Robertson	1904-07
N. M. Patterson		M. E. Baker	1907-09
Edwin McJohnston		Jesse O. Powell	1909-11
------------ Myers	1850	Lewis H. Ice	1911-15
William Hensley	1850-51	W. W. Simmons	1915-17
------ Curran	1851-52	O. E. Killion	1917-19
Henry W. Wheeler		Clarence A. Shake	1919-28
William Ravenscroft		William Hartsaw	1928-31
J. F. McCan		William Thompson	1931-34
R. L. Cushman		Russell Parsley	1934-38
Levi Johnson	1859	Howard M. Pattison (died soon after arrival)	1938
George W. Bower		Harry Thompson	1939-40
Simon Herr		W. R. Lynch	1940-45
John H. Clippinger	1875	Barthol Rogers	1945-51
William McGinnis	1875-77	Glenn Kaetzel	1951-57
Thomas Danks	1877-82	Clifford Miller	1957-62
John Tansey	1882-85	Ronald Mercer	1962-67
		Max Nicoson	1967

James Heady and Gene Matthews were nonresident pastors who preached on alternate Sundays during the 1950s.
These men went from membership in this church into the ministry:
Arthur Riggs-now superintendent of a Methodist District in Wisconsin.
Shirley Morgan now minister in the Indiana Conference.
Kenneth Reed-now Head Chaplain at the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

 

McCUTCHANVILLE CHAPEL RESTORATION 1941

From Ken McCutchan’s book “From Then Til Now”

An important date in the church's history was September 7, 1941. The preceding autumn the official board met at the parsonage and decided that something be done to renovate the interior of the sanctuary. The building had needed redecoration for a long time, and a great many of the congregation had expressed a desire for a pipe organ. Signs of a Second World War were appearing, and it was agreed that if anything was to be done, it should be done soon. The following list of "wants" was drawn up: new art-glass windows, new pews downstairs, complete redecoration of the walls and woodwork, a new furnace and flue, a pipe organ, new light fixtures, a new pulpit, new or rebuilt doors for the front entrance, paint on all exterior woodwork, and more parking space. The total cost of the proposed program was estimated at between $4,500 and $5,000. In the treasury was already the sum of $800 that had been left by the wills of Jacob Blasie (a recluse of sort, who had never been a member or even attended the church) and a late member, Mrs. Dora Tyzer. A fund drive was begun on Sunday, February 23, 1941, which ran for one month. More than the required amount was subscribed.

All improvements that had been listed were accomplished except new windows. After an investigation revealed that the old ones were of a rare etched glass imported from France which cannot now be duplicated, they seemed much prettier, and the board decided they should remain unchanged and the new interior decoration keyed to blend with them. The walls were then painted cool gray-green with ivory on the wainscoting and other woodwork. A new altar was installed in front of the organ grill, and the chancel rail was opened in the middle, allowing the altar to be approached from the center aisle. All this made a tremendous improvement in the appearance of the sanctuary.

To celebrate the completion of the project a service of rededication was held on September 7, 1941. Bishop Titus Lowe was present to give the sermon of the morning and to officiate at the baptism of infants. Following a basket dinner at the schoolhouse, Mrs. Armand Haeussler of Evansville gave a recital on the new pipe organ.