Pioneer Beginnings
From the Hobart Home to a Growing Congregation
Before Rushville's church buildings, worship began in a pioneer cabin — the Calvin Hobart home, where Methodists gathered in 1823.
In 1823, pioneer settlers gathered for worship in the Calvin Hobart cabin home, establishing one of the earliest Methodist societies in Schuyler County. Those early gatherings in a frontier home are where the story of First United Methodist Church begins.
As the community grew, the congregation moved from homes and simple meeting places to successive church buildings, each reflecting the faith and commitment of its members. Two centuries later, the congregation returned to the original Hobart site to commemorate where it all started.
Drawn from the book's account of the congregation's earliest years.