Wesley Chapel
The English Methodists used Union Hall for their church and Sunday School
for several years prior to the building of the Wesley Chapel. The
non-German Methodist people raised money during 1893 to build a church for
the English-speaking people of Batesville. It was christened a few years
after its organization as "Wesley Chapel," but was popularly known as "the
little white church on the corner."
The following history was compiled from a presentation of the Reverand
Charles Flory at the January 2003 meeting of the Batesville Historical
Society. Charles Flory
The Methodist Church in Batesville was organized in Batesville on September
12, 1845, and was known as the "Laughery Mission". It was included in the
Lawrenceburg Mission, under the jurisdiction of the Ohio Conference of the
German Methodist Episcopal Church. The ministers of this church were
required to make a circuit of several different churches, the mission at
Batesville included in a circuit consisting of eight other congregations.
German was the official language used in this and other area churches, as
the congregations of these churches came primarily from Germany. This
practice continued up until the First World War, when the custom was
discontinued and the English language was instituted.
The first Protestant church constructed in Batesville was built by the
Methodists in 1871 on Mulberry Street. It was located at the front of the
lot which is now the cemetery on Mulberry Street. This church was 36 feet
long, 26 feet wide and 14 feet tall. It cost $1533.61 to build, and was
funded by donations of time and money by the members and friends of members
of the congregation.
By 1889 the membership had outgrown the confines of this little church,
and a new one was constructed at the current location on Park Avenue.
Because the language spoken in the church was German, the needs of the
English speaking Methodists were not being met. In 1891, arrangements were
made for a minister to come to Batesville to preach to them in English. In
1892 plans were completed to build a church on the corner of Catherine
Street and Park Avenue for the English speaking Methodists. This church was,
in time, called the Wesley Chapel and served the congregation until the two
churches were reunited in 1926. The Wesley Chapel was moved from its
location and joined to the brick church where it still serves the people as
a meeting room for the various organizations of the church.
Written By Paul R. Wonning
