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| Fire Destroys Church | ||||
| After the Sunday evening service on November 13, 1870, the church burned to the ground. During the time they were without a buildling, the congregation worshipped in the Courthouse, the Old Methodist Church on the corner of Church and Oakum Streets, and in the old Academy. The new church building was ready to occupy in 1875 but it was not furnished. There were no pews or lights. At that time there was no town clock and one of the greatest needs of the church was a bell to replace the one which had been brokn by a fall in the fire. For the purpose of supplying these needs of the new church, an organization was formed in 1879 known as the Dime Society. This organization through its eighty-two years of existence contributed much to the physical as well as spritual growth of the church. At one time the church had as its pastor for four years the Rev. A.D. Cohen, a converted Jew. Another pastor of note was the Rev. R.T. Vann, later a president of Meredith College. In 1899 the Rev. C.A.G. Thomas served as pastor and it was during his pastorate that a baptistry was added to the church. |
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