This year marks the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the Washington United Methodist Church, and with some help from the Washington Historical Society, we recently uncovered a photograph that details a bit of that history.
The picture, which is from the April 21, 1955 issue of The Romeo Observer, shows the president of the Washington Methodist Church (its name at the time) board of trustees Scott Mills buffering the new tile flooring. In the background, Hazen Licht (left) and Robert Hendee (right) sweep and wash the floor.
But why are they doing this? According to the photo caption, they were preparing the new church for the initial service on Easter Sunday.
For context, the older building, which was erected in 1844, was destroyed in a fire on December 17, 1953. The cornerstone for the new structure was laid on the same site as the previous one on Sunday, November 21, 1954. It took some time for the former to get constructed. In fact, the services were held at the Washington Elementary School during this time. Additionally, the Easter Sunday service referenced earlier actually took place at the Davis Methodist Church according to the April 14, 1955 edition of The Romeo Observer.
By the end of 1955, the new edifice was complete, and it still stands today on Van Dyke Road near West Street.
Happy Anniversary Washington United Methodist Church!
Source: The Romeo Observer, December 24, 1953, p.I-1, p.I-4, and p.III-2; November 18, 1954, p.I-4; April 14, 1955, p.I-4; and April 21, 1955, p.I-6