Christian Church Destroyed 1928

Erected in 1891, the First Christian Church was one of the only buildings left standing after the Great Fire of 1910 ravaged the town. Many residents of Mount Hope felt the church was immune to fire until a defective flue caused the church to burn to the ground on the morning of November 25, 1928. Rebuilt with brick and stone two years later, the Christian Church still has an active church congregation, 2021.

The roots of the Mount Hope Christian Church stretch back nearly 75 years before the founding of the town itself. As early as 1847, a congregation was meeting, either gathering in the Brown family home or the Bailey schoolhouse.

It wasn't until 1891 that the first dedicated church building was erected, made possible by a land grant from Mount Hope's founders, Mr. & Mrs. C.C. Brown. Though its members hailed from different denominations like Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist, they came together as one to construct this "House of the Lord" originally called the Union Church.

Built with the rough-hewn lumber common to early Mount Hope, the church appeared to possess an incredible resilience when the Great Fire of 1910 devastated the town. The Union Church was among the only two structures left standing, leading residents to believe it was immune to fire's destruction.

That belief was shattered on November 25, 1928 when a defective flue sparked a blaze that burned the church to the ground, just as the fire of 1910 had consumed much of the rest of Phoenix City, as Mount Hope was nicknamed. But just as that town rose from the ashes, the congregation vowed to rebuild.

Using brick and stone to ensure it could never be felled by fire again, the new Christian Church, as it was now called, was finally completed two years later in 1930. Activities by the Christian Women's Fellowship and guidance from a committed board of trustees allowed the church to thrive over the following decades.

Their perseverance paid off, as the Mount Hope Christian Church has now served its congregation for over 175 years, carrying its legacy forward to an active membership still attending services in 2021, as captured in the 1897 photograph of a Sunday School meeting held in the schoolhouse during the church's earliest days.