Geyer Chapel United Brethren in Christ Church, The
| Geyer Chapel Church | |
|---|---|
| The Geyer Chapel United Brethren in Christ Church | |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Brethren |
| History | |
| Founded | Expression error: Unrecognized word "dd"., YYYY - but see note below |
Established
- 1863
Denomination
Location
Cemetery
Historical documents
Historical sketch
- The Geyer Chapel church was organized in 1863 with seven charter members, according to the best available records. In that year according to the deed, Mr. Geyer donated a plot of ground for the church to be built on, and room for a cemetery also. it is assumed that the building was built shortly thereafter.
At the time of the division of the church in the year 1889 all property passed to what was then the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Some of the people remained faithful to the old constitution, and after the other church was built in Madisonburg, they were permitted to continue to worship in the Geyer Chapel building.
With the exception of a few changes on the inside & the entrance-way, the old building remained the same as when first built.
Somewhere around the year 1907 the front of the building was blown in by a windstorm, and the Brethren Church, better known as the River Brethren near Smithville helped to repair the building and was granted the privilege of worshiping there one Sunday each month for a large number of years.
At one time it was part of a circuit with the Pleasant Valley Church south of Dalton, Ohio. But later returned to a station, supporting their own full time pastor.
About the year 1951, the trustee's of the church were granted a quit claim deed to the church and burial ground by the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Madisonburg, giving the Geyer Chapel congregation at last a clear title to their property.
This was the first of several moves to create a bigger & better church. The second came in 1957 when the congregation purchased a parsonage in Smithville, Ohio and later the Church vacated by the Methodist Church in Smithville when they moved into their newly built one across the street.
After the move into Smithville the congregation voted to drop the name Geyer Chapel, and adopted the new name of Smithville United Brethren in Christ.
Years later, due to a small membership decided to disband and close the records of this old church. The Geyer Chapel Cemetery was deeded to The Geyer Cemetery Association, and the old church had been torn down and the land added on to the cemetery plot.
The Smithville Church was sold to a Baptist group, thus ending over one hundred of years of service to the people of Smithville, Ohio area.