Little Church On The Prairie Traditional Cache
Little Church On The Prairie
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A quick cache located at a southwest Missouri country church. The ground is flat and a large parking lot provides plenty of room for vehicles. Permission to place cache was given by members of the church.
Mt. Moriah Methodist Church got its beginning in the desires of some of the families in the community for a place to meet in fellowship and gain a greater knowledge of Christ. It began with the organization of a Sunday school in the King Schoolhouse on January 6, 1871. The congregation was known as "King's Class" and was taught by Charles W. King.
Mr. Thomas presented land for a new church building for $1.00. The land was to be used for church purposes and was deeded to the church trustees and their successors. the church was to be governed by the Methodist Discipline. In November 1880, members of the community began raising funds until the funds were sufficient to dedicate the building debt free. Benjamin J. Price was the architect of the original building and J. Ladley, Damon and McCord Brothers were the carpenters. The church was called Mt. Moriah because of its elevated position overlooking the community.
In 1901, during a church service, a cyclone hit the church building and moved it with its congregation in it, off its foundation. The building was repaired by the congregation and placed back on its foundation. During the night, on November 7, 1902, an overheated stove started a fire and burned the building to the ground. the church board met and decided to rebuild immediately. In the interim, Church and Sunday School would continue in the Shiloh Schoolhouse one mile south of the church. John Brummet was the architect of the second church building and Orville Frost and John Brummet were the carpenters. Starting funds of $1,498.50 were raised and the church was completed in June 1903 at the cost of $2,500.00. Reverend E. P. Anderson and Reverend James Potter dedicated the church building. The first pastor to serve in the new building was Reverend W. T. Ferguson.
On April 5, 1932, another fire disaster came when the church building was set ablaze by a prairie fire and burned to the ground. The congregation possessed the strong spirit of the Midwest and their desire to have a community church in which to worship the Lord was equally as strong. two days later the church board met and decided to build a new church of native stone to be as fireproof as possible. The new structure would cost $4,000.00. Shiloh Schoolhouse would once again serve as the meeting place for Sunday school and Church services. Juan and Minford Potter were the architects and Arthur Frost and Wirt Knight were the carpenters. Reverend W. G. Clinton dedicated the building on November 2, 1932.
In November 1956, Mt. Moriah had grown to the point of needing additional classrooms. A new addition, housing four new Sunday school rooms and two rest rooms, began on the south side of the existing structure. The addition also had a native rock exterior and on November 22, 1932, Reverend Harold Mills dedicated the addition.
Twenty-five years later, additional classroom space was needed to serve the needs of the Sunday school classes. Committees began planning a Sunday school annex with three classrooms and one utility room. The addition would model the design of the original church structure and the estimated cost would be $20,000.00. On October 28, 1984, a building dedication ceremony was held with District Superintendent Christy Oetting delivering the address.
In 1871, the people of this southwest Missouri community go together and put their heart into building a beautiful house of worship for their families and neighbors. Today, over 125 years later, the same spirit is alive and as strong as ever in the congregation of Mt. Moriah. Through the years, members of Mt. Moriah have reached out to people near and far to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mt. Moriah Methodist Church is going on as strong as ever as the "Heart of the Community."
CONGRATULATIONS TO PITTALUM AND TOMKAT87 FOR A CO-FTF!!!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
uvf rlr vf ba gur fcneebj
Treasures
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