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Mt. Olive Church
Roscoe Township
Condensed early history from St. Clair County Library Files
Book by Derl
H. Barnett:
The people of the community had been considering building a church building
for some time.
In 1896 a meeting was held at the home of John Pyle. Mr. Pyle
offered to donate the land
and $100 toward the church building. Others who
pledged money were Allen Stewart,
Joseph C. Henderson, Thomas A. Baker,
William W. Garver, James Madison Henderson,
Jim Clyde, Mr. Rudolph and
several others. Cal Hargus, the Shady Grove School Teacher
at the time,
wrote up the minutes of this first meeting.
They didn’t have an architect but made up a diagram of the Roscoe church and
used it with
some ideas of their own. John Pyle went across the Sac River
Bridge toward Osceola, Missouri
and met with John Reynolds who was living on
the Funkhouser place and asked if he would
donate the lumber, on the stump,
for framework to build the church. Mr. Reynolds asked
Mr. Pyle if he had the
dimensions of the lumber needed written down. John Pyle handed
the sheet of
paper to Mr. Reynolds, who told him to come back in three days when he
would
let him know of his decision. When Mr. Pyle went back on the third day,
Mr.
Reynolds told him the trees had already been felled and cut to the proper
lengths
outlined on the sheet of paper and ready to haul to the sawmill.
The fine pecan logs were hauled to the Harman Saw Mill in Roscoe. The saw
mill sawed
the lumber and donated their labor toward the project. Others
hauled the lumber to the site.
Stone for the foundation was quarried across
the road southeast of the church near the school
ground on land then owned
by Mr. Pyle. Mose Killebrew and William Winfield Garver with helpers,
laid
the foundation. James M. Henderson and Allen Stewart hauled the pine lumber,
shingles
and lathes from Collins.
Mr. Faurot, a carpenter, Ruff Moore, Walter Garver, Ed Moore, James
Henderson and
others in the community put up Mt. Olive Church building
during January and February of 1897.
The building was plastered when built
but the plaster was later removed. Jim Clyde built the
Bible stand. The
building was dedicated May 10, 1897 by R.S. Hunter which was also the date
Mr. Pyle deeded the land to the Church.
Some of the first preachers were: Mr. John Pyle, his three sons Rob, Richard
and Will,
W.K. White, Bro. Troutman, Bro. Barr, Bro. William Birdsong’s
father, Bros. Bill Rudolf,
McGrew, Wright, Strohn, Hinkle, Tobie Tucker and
Elmer Sutton who held a successful revival.
When the church was completed, all the bills were paid from the donations
except for $316.00
which John Pyle paid. Later the church was deeded to the
Methodists from whom the
community bought it.
(Photo of this building welcomed)
Submitted by Mary Zeiler
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