Benton United Methodist Church

Click here for a picture of the Church in 1908

Go to the bottom of this page for present day interior pictures of the Church.

The United Methodist Church of Benton was formed in 1868 or 1869. For some time they met in the home of Charles Snyder. Then in 1870 a group of sixteen people formally organized the Methodist Episcopal Church. They continued to meet in homes until 1872 when the first church building was erected on the spot where the present building now stands.

The upper Fishing Creek valley was noted for its fine timber, and most of the lumber used for the new frame church was donated by Emanual Laubach and Eli Mendenhall.

When the church was finished, a plank sidewalk was built in front of the church to the front entrance. Eli Mendenhall, a lover of trees, planted three sugar maples and one slippery elm just inside the walk. They grew to be beautiful trees but were cut down when the church was rebuilt in 1907. The 1872 building served as Benton's place of worship for thirty-five years.

The first pastor of the church (1872) was Rev. C. L. Benscoter. The complete roster of ministers of this church from 1871 until today appears at the end of this section.

In 1907 the old building was moved back on the lot to make room for the present edifice. The new brick building housed only the sanctuary, and the old building which was given a brick veneer, housed the social room, also called the "Church-School Room.

In 1938, a small kitchen and several small classrooms were added. The sanctuary is an especially lovely place of worship. The beautiful stained-glass windows are attractions. Appropriate pictures of the windows will be added later, when available.

The church was fortunate in securing these windows. The story behind the windows is that a studio had made them for another and much richer church, only to find that because of some mistake they could not be used. So they had them on their hands and were anxious to dispose of them, even at a loss. As a result, The Benton church was able to afford these glorious windows, which have been a joy to all worshippers down through the years.

This lovely story does not apply to the window above the altar. That window was added sometime in the 1940s, a gift from Dr. Frank C. Laubach. Dr. Laubach was reared in the church, his was the first wedding solemnized in the church, and he possessed a heart full of love for it.

The window was installed by Torrence C. Smith who was for years Sunday School Superintendent, and always a staunch, faithful member.

Various additions and renovations have followed. The most recent was made from the Fall of 1999 into the Spring of 2001 which included the replacing of the front doors with replicas of the originals, the expanding and modernizing of the kitchen, and the excavation of more of the basement making more classroom and meeting-room space.

The church is currently without a minister, but is functioning very well with the help of a lay leader, John Trathen, from Catawissa.

Many fine men have served the church as members of the Board and as Trustees, too many to be included in this short history.

The names of the men who were at the helm and guided the church through the crucial days of rebuilding and incorporation in 1907 include C. F. Seely, Thomas E. Edwards, B. G. Keller, John R. Keeler, R. T. Smith and 0. E. Little.

In the days of the original church the only musical instrument was a dear, little old-fashioned organ. The new church depended upon a piano until 1946 when a beautiful Hammond organ was installed. Mrs. Arthur A. Harrison was pianist for years but resigned her position in 1940 and Mrs. Ross Pennington, Sr. took over. When the Hammond organ was installed, Mrs. Pennington continued as organist and was a faithful and most capable organist.

Rev. W. H. Benford was pastor at the time of rebuilding in 1907, having come to the charge in 1904. Our church has grown from a group of sixteen faithful people, meeting in the homes, to the present church with a membership of 350, meeting in one of the most beautiful small churches in the conference.
--based on an article by Edna Shaw

PASTORAL HISTORY 1871 TO 1968

	The beautiful interior of the Church