Orange United Methodist Church (Orange Church)

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• Orange Methodist Church, 1925–1940

1. about 1830-1832 Orange Methodist Church is organized at the Davis School House Alexander Gattis and neighbors organized Orange Methodist Church in the Davis School House near the Wash Fowler home. Its early records are lost: Lefler and Wager give about 1830, and the church's own tradition 1832. By August 1833 the Chapel Hill Harbinger was advertising a camp meeting to begin October 4 at Orange Church, two miles north of Chapel Hill on the Hillsborough road. The congregation had trustees by October 1836, when Gattis and Thomas King deeded them land, and built its first church about 1838. People: Jones Watson, Isaac J. Collier Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 297 · Also: The Harbinger (Chapel Hill), August 27, 1833, p. 3
2. about 1836-1838 Orange Methodist Church replaces its burned log church with a frame building By tradition the congregation first worshiped in a log cabin, which burned. A frame church took its place around 1836 to 1838 and served until 1924. A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 4
3. October 31, 1836 Alexander Gattis Sr. and Thomas King deed land to the Orange Methodist Church trustees Each man deeded two acres to the trustees of Orange Church, giving the congregation its own ground. Gattis was himself a ruling elder of New Hope Presbyterian Church. A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 4
4. 1859 Alexander Gattis Jr. becomes the first person buried in the Orange Church cemetery Gattis, the first member of Orange Church to enter the Methodist ministry, joined the North Carolina Conference in 1846. He died at forty and was the first burial in the church cemetery. A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 3
5. October 5, 1878 Sunday schools organize an Orange County Sunday School Convention at Orange Church Delegates from Sunday schools around the county met in the grove at Orange Church and organized an Orange County Sunday School Convention, electing J. W. Gattis of Durham president, L. Turner of Chapel Hill vice president and I. D. Hutchins secretary. Schools reporting included New Hope, Bethel, Damascus, Mount Moriah, Orange, Iron Mine, the Chapel Hill Presbyterian and Methodist schools and the Durham Methodist school, and the convention named New Hope Church as its next meeting place. People: Solomon Pool, Albert R. Ledoux The Chapel Hill Ledger, October 12, 1878, p. 4
6. June 1, 1924 Orange Methodist Church opens its new building before a crowd of about a thousand Between 900 and 1,000 people attended the formal opening of the new church at Orange, two and a half miles north of Chapel Hill, on Sunday, June 1, 1924. Baptist leader Charles E. Maddry, who had grown up near the church, preached and raised about $2,000 toward a debt of some $4,400, and the paper credited S. J. Brockwell of Chapel Hill with starting the building movement by giving the framing lumber. People: Charles Edward Maddry, Samuel Jackson Brockwell The News (Chapel Hill), June 5, 1924, p. 1
7. June 1, 1924 Orange Methodist Church tears down its frame church and builds the present sanctuary The new church, which added four Sunday school rooms to what had been a single-room church, was formally opened on Sunday, June 1, 1924, before a crowd The News put at 900 to 1,000. S. J. Brockwell of Chapel Hill had started the building movement by offering the framing lumber, and Charles E. Maddry, who grew up near the church, preached and raised about $2,000 toward a debt of some $4,400. The booklet says the building was still the place of Sunday worship in 1989. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell, Charles Edward Maddry A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 4 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), June 5, 1924, p. 1
8. June 14, 1925 Orange Church homecoming wipes out the debt on its building At a homecoming with preaching and a dinner in the grove, Orange Church north of Chapel Hill took up a collection on its $800 building debt; when pledges left $575 owing and $75 more was raised, S. J. Brockwell gave the last $500, clearing the debt. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell, Charles Edward Maddry The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 19, 1925, p. 1
9. November 1925 J. F. Starnes becomes Methodist pastor at Carrboro and Orange Church The Methodist Conference sent Rev. J. F. Starnes to succeed Rev. J. W. Autry as pastor of the Carrboro Methodist church and Orange Church. Autry, who had served four years, went to Webb Avenue Methodist in Burlington. The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 27, 1925, p. 1
10. March to June 1934 Orange Methodist Church builds the Hut for its social and community use Members of the congregation built the Hut, a log building at the edge of the church grove, in the spring of 1934 under the direction of S. J. Brockwell, and it was first seen by many at the homecoming on Sunday, June 10. Its two rooms, a social hall of about 24 by 30 feet and a kitchen, were used for community events, church suppers, business meetings and Sunday school. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 4 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, March 23, 1934, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, May 18, 1934, p. 2; Chapel Hill Weekly, June 15, 1934, p. 3
11. by April 21, 1940 Orange Methodist Church north of Chapel Hill is repainted and wired for electric lights Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Brockwell had Orange church, the Methodist church about three miles north of Chapel Hill, painted inside and out, given electric light fixtures and its seats redone, a surprise gift made through the church's two missionary societies. The congregation first saw the work at a Sunday morning service. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 26, 1940, p. 1
12. March 29, 1953 Orange Methodist Church dedicates three memorial stained glass windows UNC chancellor Robert B. House preached at the dedication. The windows remember the deceased members of the Women's Society of Christian Service, Samuel J. Brockwell, and the brothers Malcolm C. and John H. Blackwood. People: R. B. House A Brief History, Orange United Methodist Church, 1832-1989 (1989), scan p. 4

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