History

Trinity United Methodist Church has a rich history beginning in 1824 when Hackaliah Vreedenburgh, an itinerant Methodist preacher belonging to the Order of Knights of the Saddlebags and a circuit rider, came to "Star City," now known as Lafayette, Indiana and met with John Huntsinger. John and his borther, Eli called together the Methodists in the settlement and a Methodist service, the first church service of any kind in the area, was held in the Huntsinger home at 5th and Ferry Streets.

In 1825, James Armstrong, Presiding Elder, and Hackaliah Vreedenburgh, held services in the old log courthouse. Other prayer meetings continued to be held in the Huntsinger home. In 1827, Eli Pearce, a farmer, formally organized the Methodist Church with 10 members: John Huntsinger, Eli Huntsinger, Rheuben White, John Stephenson, John Wilson, and their wives. The group continue to worship in the log courthouse until 1830 when the first church building, a 30' x 40' frame structure, was built on Missouri Street (now, Sixth Street) on the second lot south of Main Street, facing east. The building, costing $1,500, was the first house of worship erected in the area.

In 1836, the lot on which the church was located was sold. A lot on the northwest corner of Fifth and Ferry streets was purchased for $400 and the frame church was moved to the west end of the lot. The Methodist Society worshipped there until 1845 when a brick church was built on the east end of the lot facing Ferry Street at a cost of $58,000. The old meeting house was rented out as a school and was finally sold to the Oddfellows for $300 (present day $6854). The new church, known as the Fifth Street Church, was the church home of the society for twenty-seven years. The building was sold to First Christian Church in 1874.

The lot #140 at Sixth and North Streets (our present location) was bought by Henry Taylor and John W. Heath in 1868 for the sum of $7,000. It was presented to the Methodist Episcopal congregation for the building of a new place of worship. The building construction began under the pastoral labors of the Rev. G. M. Boyd, as stationed (appointed) minister and Rev. W. Graham as Presiding Elder. W. G. Brakeman was stationed at the new church in the fall of 1868 and remained until the church was laid, the building enclosed and the contract for the completion of the chapel was assigned. The Chapel (our present day parlor) was completed in 1869. The Chapel was dedicated by Dr. Bowman, a Methodist Bishop. The congregation worshiped in the Chapel until the Auditorium (our present day sanctuary) was completed. The entire church was dedicated on March 23, 1873.

The architect for the building was W. H. Brown, employing Joshua Chew to do the masonry. The carpenter work on both the Chapel and the Auditorium was done by Melton and Alexander. To these gentlemen, the Church is largely indebted for its present day beauty and finished design. The beautiful archways and plaster work around the organ, the pew heads, the paneled wainscoting of the Auditorium, and the stairways leading to the galleries were all improvements on the original draft. The vaulted ceiling is supported by hand-hewn walnut beams. The furnaces were furnished by the Burnett Hot Air Company. The frescoing of the Auditorium was done by Mr. Wm. Faust of St. Louis. The organ was built by Mr. A. Pompletz of Baltimore, Maryland. The stained glass windows in the chapel were done by Mr. William Nelson of Pittsburgh. The original windows in the sanctuary were completed by Messers, Sutter and Bemith of St. Louis, Missouri. The cost of the building and the lot was $90,000 (present day $1,599,189).

According to a newspaper report in the Western Christian Advocate of 1917, Trinity Church had completed extensive improvements in the building. The repairs consisted of hardwood floors, new carpet and cushions, new windows (by Edna Browning Ruby), the walls refrescoed, the woodwork restored to the original color, the choir loft enlarged and other miscellaneous improvements in the sanctuary. The front vestibule was also overhauled. The Sunday School rooms were enlarged by conversion of the gallery (present balcony of the parlor) into three large second floor classrooms. Alteration of the parlor was also done to give space for both assembly rooms and classrooms. A new roof and a number of other improvements were made to the exterior. All was done without one penny of indebtedness. The church was rededicated on February 25, 1917 by Bishop Thomas Nicholson of Chicago. Rev. U.G. Leazenby was the pastor.
A major change was made to the facade of the church in 1928 (or 1929). The tall spires (or towers) on the front of the church were removed. Although some of the majesty of the building lost, Trinity continues to be a building of great beauty.

In 1933, the Homebuilders class which had been meeting in the Annex, the building directly south of the church, volunteered to enlarge the basement. At the time only a space large enough for the furnace had been dug out. By hand digging the entire area of the current basement and carrying out the dirt in buckets, they were able to provide a place for them to meet in the church building. This area is now known as the Fellowship Hall, Friendship Room and kitchen. The Annex stood where our present day gardens are located and was sold in 1940 and became a doctor's office. Trinity repurchased the building 1982 and demolished it.

A dedication service was held on September 28, 1952 to celebrate the new Moller organ that was installed in memory of Rev. Thomas J. Williams, who was pastor of Trinity from 1919 to 1948. This also marked the end of a major renovation in the church. At this time, the altar was moved forward, placing the choir loft behind the pulpit. The walls were painted light green. New carpet and upholstering of the pew cushions were included in the project. The third floor of the church was remodeled to include three classrooms and the ceiling was lowered. The total cost of the project was $50,000 (present day $378,231) including the cost of the organ.

Trinity Methodist Church Education Building was completed and its doors opened for the church and the community in December of 1957. The building, located directly north of Trinity Church, was constructed at the cost of over $200,000 (present day $1,512,926). When this building opened, it housed seventeen classrooms, a spacious recreation room, conference room, offices for the pastors and secretaries, a kitchen and two nurseries.

With the completion of the Education Building, space became available in the church building for a chapel that was built in the northwest corner of the church on the main floor. At the time the Chapel was being built, the Sanctuary was redecorated. The Memorial Chapel was completed May 9, 1960. The memorial organ in the Chapel was dedicated to Nell Harrison who was Reverend Williams' secretary for twenty-five years.

1968 and 1969 were years of change for Trinity. The name our church became Trinity United Methodist Church after the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist denominations. Plans were made for a centennial celebration of the completion of the first part of the church. September 16-21, 1969 was the time for celebration our Trinity heritage. The week long celebration included a congregational songfest by the choir, a memorial and rededication communion service and a drama group presentation of "Whither Goest Thou." On Sunday, September 21, there were worship services, Sunday School, a luncheon social, a history and archives display and the dedication program at 1:00 p.m. A souvenir booklet containing a wealth of information and a record of the original dedication of March 23, 1873 was given to members.

Trinity has been and continues to be a mission church reaching out to meet the needs of the congregation and the community and to spread the love of Jesus Christ with love and compassion. Trinity has supported many missionaries in its past to many different nations across the world. Trinity began the Trinity Mission project in Lafayette as well as Lafayette Urban Ministry. Trinity also provided pastoral counseling and facilities for Planned Parenthood. Trinity United Methodist Church has been called "the Mother of Methodism" in Lafayette. In 1849, the Ninth Street (Brown Street) Methodist Episcopal Church was established. Congress Street Church was formed in 1857. Chauncey Hill Church also had its roots at Trinity.

These highlights of the history of Trinity United Methodist are but a small account of what has been accomplished by the many pastors, associate pastors, and parish ministers with the help of members of congregation, to make Trinity a cornerstone in our community.