St. Paul's Methodist Protestant Church (Culbertson, Nebraska) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Paul's Methodist Protestant Church
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 Location in Nebraska
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Culbertson, Nebraska |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1900 |
| Built by | James L. Hoyt |
| NRHP reference No. | 79001446 |
| Added to NRHP | January 25, 1979 |
The St. Paul's Methodist Protestant Church, also known as the Stone Church, is a historic church building. You can find it south of Culbertson, Nebraska, United States, right on Nebraska Highway 17. This special church was built in 1900. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 because of its important history.
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The Story of the Stone Church
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The Stone Church has a long and interesting past. It shows how communities worked together a long time ago.
The First Church Building
Back in 1885, people in the Driftwood Creek area needed a place to worship. So, they built a church out of sod, which is like thick grass and dirt. This sod church was built to serve the growing number of families living there. The first church services were led by a Methodist minister named M.H. Noe in that same year. The Stone Church you see today stands right across the road from where that first sod church used to be.
Building the Stone Church
Building the Stone Church was a huge team effort. Most of the work was done by people from the church who volunteered their time. They used limestone rocks that they found in a local rock formation. These heavy stones were then hauled by wagons to the building site, which was about 5 miles (8.0 km) away.
Church members worked hard to cut, shape, and load the limestone by hand. They were guided by Jim Flynn and a local stonemason named James Lewellyn Hoyt. Hoyt's sons, who were only eight and ten years old, were too small to lift the big stones. Instead, they helped by placing small amounts of dynamite to break the limestone apart in the quarry. The land for the church, which was one acre, was kindly given by Rebecca Hart.
It's amazing that this church was built so well. At the time, most of the people who went to this church still lived in simple sod houses or dugouts. The construction of the church was finished in 1900. It was officially opened as the St. Paul Methodist Protestant Church, with Reverend J.E. Darby leading the first service.
Church Life and Changes
A few years later, in 1904, the St. Paul Methodist Protestant Church joined with another local group. This group was called the United Brethren In Christ. By 1907, the church was formally known as United Brethren. Regular church services continued in the building for many years, until 1951.
The Stone Church was a very important part of the Driftwood Community until the 1950s. It was where the local Sunday school met. An orchestra also practiced and performed there. Many other local events took place at the church. In the early 1900s, the Stone Church was even the polling place for the community. This meant people came there to vote.
Bringing the Church Back to Life
In 1975, people celebrated the seventy-fifth anniversary of the church's construction. At this event, a special committee was formed. Their goal was to restore the old building. Over 75 years, the church had been damaged in several ways.
Since the restoration work began, many improvements have been made. The roof has been replaced, and the walls have been made stronger. Old, unsafe electrical wiring was removed. The inside of the building has been fixed up to look much like it did when it was first built.
The Stone Church does not have modern plumbing or electricity. This is because of when it was built and its quiet, remote location. The building is not used for regular services anymore. However, the Stone Church Community Association takes care of it. They keep it as a special memorial to the early settlers who built it. Each year, people gather at the Stone Church to remember and celebrate its history and construction.
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