A Church Steeped in History
Methodism in Circleville started within a year after the establishment of Pickaway County in 1810. Itinerant preachers brought the gospel to gatherings, led by Judge McArthur, in private dwellings, the new courthouse in the center of the circle and then Circleville Academy. In 1820 they built a church on two lots on Watt Street; it was destroyed by fire in 1851. The trustees immediately bought a lot on the corner of Pickaway and Main Streets and built a new structure at a cost of $12,000. The building was ruled unsafe because of a shallow foundation and was razed in 1908.
The new and present structure was dedicated in 1910 at a cost of $142,500 featuring art glass windows, class rooms, modern facilities. It was then known as the Methodist Episcopal church (ME) until 1939 when it became The First Methodist Church. Then in 1968 it could no longer be the First Methodist Church when officials of the Evangelical and United Brethren and Methodist churches voted to merge. It then became the Community United Methodist Church of today.
The elevated foundation and steps to every entrance have been challenging but membership grew over the years and a needed Christian Education building was added and dedicated in 1964.