The history of colemanville

The Colemanville Methodist Episcopal Church was established 175 years ago by members of the Mount Nebo Circuit who lived in the Martic Forge-Colemanville area.  The ground on which the original small brick building was built was donated by Mr. Robert Coleman and Mr. George Dawson Coleman who owned ironworks in this area.  The church and community were named after this prominent family.  The church was completed and dedicated in the autumn of 1849.  This little brick church, located directly across the road from the present church building in the front corner of the cemetery, according to history notes “saw many outstanding religious revivals in its lifetime of 45 years”. 

In July 1894, after a growth in membership and the soft bricks showing signs of deterioration, there was a discussion of the need for a larger building.  The ground for the new building, located directly across the road from the original church, was donated by Mr. Frederick Shoff.  By December 1894, the new church building was completed, and according to history notes, for a total cost of $1481.66. 

The sanctuary of our church building today, except for the back four rows of pews, is the original church built in 1894.  Through the years physical changes were made to the building to meet various needs.  Some of those changes included:  adding a bell tower in 1915; in 1949, constructing a new bell tower at the opposite end of the building; in 1953, adding a basement under the sanctuary; in 1988, increasing the length of the sanctuary for additional seating; enlarging the narthex area and adding restrooms; adding a wide inside stairway; enlarging the kitchen and increasing storage space; and several classrooms were added over time.

In May 1987, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for a parsonage, and dedication followed in November.  In April 1988, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the church building expansion project.  One year later in April 1989, this project was completed, and a dedication service was held. 

In 1994, the congregation voted to become a one-point charge with a full-time pastor.  The 100th anniversary of this church building was celebrated in October 1994.  In 1999, Colemanville Church celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of this congregation. 

In the year 2000, a three-room portable trailer was purchased as a temporary solution to provide needed Sunday School classroom space.  In 2015, the shed in the parking lot was removed to provide additional parking and a permanent Sunday School classroom building was built. 

The pandemic, in 2020, resulted in a halt of in-person worship and other activities.  By October, the church transitioned to a temporary part-time pastor’s position.  In 2021, the pastor’s position transitioned to interim part-time.  In 2023, the Conference appointed Colemanville to a two-point charge with Boehm’s UM Church sharing a pastor half-time each. 

Colemanville Church has been and, our prayers are, will continue to be a lighthouse radiating God’s love as we reach out to serve others through various ministries and making God visible by sharing the Good News of God’s redeeming grace in Jesus Christ.