“The Church on the Hill”

The Main Street Evangelical Church started in 1903 as a mission of the Evangelical Association at the Mt. Cory Conference.

Pastor Wendell S. Mills and his wife Jeanette arrived in Mansfield in August 1903, to start a mission of the Evangelical Association Church. The YMCA assembly room was used while negotiations were carried on for the South Main Street property during 1903. Finally, in 1904, the property was purchased for $2,500 and Harlan Jones drew up plans for the $10,000 church.

The site purchased was already well known since 1814 when Rev. Van Emor preached the first camp meeting service in Mansfield.

The cornerstone was laid on June 3, 1905, and the church rapidly became known as the "Church on the Hill." The sandstone foundations were quarried in Cavallo along the Mohican River and the brick was hydraulically pressed and burned by a Cleveland firm.

Although the original debt for church, lot, and furnishings amounted to only $13,907.93, on the day of the dedication of the new building, December 10, 1905, 31 people made pledges, the largest of which was $25.00. Pastor Mills remarked that funds were in sight but they could be seen only by a telescope. It was finally paid off in 1914.

Originally the church had two Norman towers but leaking roofs were a constant problem and in 1910 they were cut down and roofed over.

The beautiful art windows were designed by the Bryant Art Glass Co. of Columbus, and are now incorporated in the present sanctuary which was completed in 1959 on the same site.

We ceased to be a mission church in 1919, becoming the Main Street Evangelical Association.

The old church was remodeled in 1924 and steel beams had to be added to strengthen the roof in 1949 and again in 1953. The last service was held in the old sanctuary on April 13, 1958. The building was razed to make way for the present sanctuary dedicated on October 11, 1959.

Unfortunately, the early church records were destroyed by a fire at the New Method Stove Company. where Clark Smith, church secretary, had them in his desk. However, a few records of the 1903 church school meeting were uncovered and show that attendance was around 11, with a collection of 39 cents per Sunday.

On November 16, 1946, the Evangelical Church merged with the United Brethren in Johnstown, PA, and our church name became the Main Street Evangelical United Brethren Church. Another merger, this time with the Methodist Church, came in 1968.

In 2023, Main Street United Methodist Church joined the Global Methodist Church and it is now called Main Global Methodist. We are a Bible-centered church. We welcome you to join one of our services at 10:00am on Sunday. If you would like to read about our new pastor before you visit click here.