HISTORY OF

OAK RUN CHRISTIAN CHURCH - OHIO TOWNSHIP

 

 

The origin of the Oak Run Christian Church is unclear. It was formed in rural Ohio Township some time before 1900. Like most rural churches of that era, it first gathered in members homes and then in school houses as they became available. Whether it was called the Oak Run Christian Church early on is unknown and there are no mentions of it in the newspapers before the 1900s. The earliest know pastor is Rev. Carpenter who was pastor in 1906. Others are Rev. Roy C. Helfenstein in 1910 and Rev. Powell in 1911.

 

In about 1908, The Oak Run Friends church building became available as that congregation dwindled and it was purchased by the Christian congregation and became known as the Oak Run Christian Church. The Christian church, in the next few years, became a community church and thrived until the building burned to the ground on December 17, 1922. Following the loss of the building, the church apparently disbanded as there was no further mention of the congregation in the newspapers. This was an era when the automobile was becoming the favored means of transportation and going into town to go to church (in this case Truro) was likely a better choice than rebuilding the rural church. No photo of this church has been found.

___________________

 

Source:  The Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa, December 12, 1922, pg 1.


Maintained by the County Coordinator This page was created on December 10, 2010.
This page was last updated Sunday, 12-Feb-2023 13:18:11 CST .