The original location of Wesley Chapel was three miles north of Macksburg and then 2 miles west, in Webster Township. Wesley Chapel was first organized in the early 1890s in a school house west of Rex Schulz's home. In 1895 some of the class members built the church. It was dedicated on November 24, 1895 by the Rev. A. B. Buckner, while Rev. F. S. Bunting was pastor.

In 1926 that building burned. At the time, the church was lit by a gas light system which operated on fumes, and gas ran under the floor. A church service was in progress when an issue with the gas system caused a fire. The members quickly picked up the pews and other furnishings and hurried outside. Most of those rescued items were usable in the replacement church.

Wesley Chapel - Webster Township

Photo courtesy of the Winterset Madisonian

Arrangements were made to build on the land where the abandoned Wells Church building stood. Ike Eivins donated an additional acre of land. The congregation took down the Wells building and reused much of the wood to build a larger facility. The Wells Church, which had been known for its active singing school, had been closed for 20 years.Fred Murrell served as carpenter for the new building and Mr. Mills assisted, plus all the men of the community helped. While the new building was being built, members met in the Webster #9 school house. Families of present members helped build the church including the Platts, Haymonds and Eivins. The building was dedicated on November 28, 1926, while Rev. A. R. Weed was pastor.

The pastoral charge which included Wesley Chapel changed several times since its founding. In 1908 Hebron was included with the Wesley charge and later Wilson Chapel was made the third member. In the 20s Webster replaced Wilson Chapel. Then, in 1961, Webster was replaced by Macksburg.

History has taken its toll on the rural churches. There formerly were five churches just in Webster Township. Now, Madison County has just a few rural churches remaining. Wesley Chapel suffered with the changes. The building used to be full and even reached a record attendance of 89 for Sunday School. That dwindled by 1991 to attendance levels of four or five members on an average Sunday. There are six active families and four of these were at least third generation members. In December of 1991, the members voted to close the church and the closure became official on June 30, 1992. Most of the members decided to attend the Macksburg Methodist church after the closing.

Charter Members of Wesley Chapel

Pastors Through the Years

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