|
|
Trinity United Methodist Church
Sunday worship is at 9:20am.
Trinity United Methodist Church is a historical site. Trinity United Methodist Church was organized as the Centerville Methodist Episcopal Church North in 1884 in a rented building on the corner of East Center Street and Wells Street, where Reverend J.W. Bennet gathered a group of 25 young people for Sunday School. They had been meeting for some years in the school house before Rev. Bennet was appointed to develop the new church (less than a half-mile down the hill from Mt. Bethel). During a lively Christmas program in 1886, the floor collapsed and members decided it was time to build a church. In 1887, the present site on the corner of LaPlatte and Main Street was donated by the Butte & Boston Mining Company and construction began. Rev. Joel Vigus came in 1889 and found only one member and worship attendance averaged 8 persons. The church building was begun anew and dedicated that very Christmas in 1889. Gary Treglown, the newly appointed pastor to Mountain View ~ Trinity UMC (2007) who is himself a Butte native, tells about his grandfather, who had helped build the new church, not being allowed in for the Dedication Service. It seems he had just gotten off his shift in the mines and was not wearing either a coat or a tie and, therefore, was not allowed in the building. In a fit of unchristian anger, he lit a stick of dynamite in the street in front of the church; and, besides getting everyone's attention, blew out the church's windows. The new building included something quite remarkable for the early 1890's: electric lights, donated by Senator Lee Mantle. (An Englishman, Mantle served in the Montana Territory House of Representatives, had been mayor of Butte and was a US Senator from 1895-1899. He established the Daily Inter-Mountain newspaper in Butte.) In 1896-7, the original wood-frame building was raised up and a basement built to accommodate the fellowship hall. It was given a brick veneer and a vestibule and choir rooms were added. As more time went by, an organ was purchased, a furnace replaced stoves, and memorial windows were dedicated to those who helped to place the Church on the hill. When Rev. Vigus left in 1891, the church was debt free; there were 200 members, 175 listed in the Sunday School and 23 recorded in the choir.
Situated at the border of two working class communities (Centerville and Walkerville), Trinity church was known as one of the 'miner's churches', as opposed to the 'Mine Owner's churches' and it especially served early Cornish miners. Walkerville was named for the Walker Brothers, owners of the first mine in Butte, the Alice silver mine in the north part of town. As many as 60 mines operated in or near Walkerville alone. Although Walkerville was dominated by miners of Cornish extraction and their families, the neighborhood was considered more cosmopolitan than Butte, down the hill. Centerville (on the east side of Trinity UMC) was home to comparable numbers of Cornish and Irish residents. Stores and businesses, from the grocery to the barber shop, had two of each kind...one for the Cornish and one for the Irish. Trinity, as aforementioned, was erected by and for the Cornish residents.
Services and Amenities
Bible Study, Sunday School
Directions
Trinity United Methodist Church is on top of the Butte skyline, straight north to 971 North Main.
Hours / Season of Operation
Season:
N/A
Hours:
N/A
Contact Information
Trinity United Methodist Church
Mailing Address:
203 West Quartz
Butte,
MT 59701
Phone: 406-723-7966
Payment / Reservation Information
Payment Methods:
N/A
Discount Types:
N/A
Reservations:
N/A
|
|
